The first thing that Randidly did in the wake of Don’s departure was check in on Claudette; she shrugged off his soft questions and favored him with a joking glare. She put her fists on her hips and looked him up and down. “Take care of yourself first, Ghosthound. You realize you look like a plague bearer, right? I could catch something from you like this.”
Randidly looked down at his vomit-spattered front and dirty bare feet. In addition, most of his shirt had been ripped away in the fighting. Which only served to emphasize the massive, enflamed rash across his chest where Devick’s attack had briefly penetrated his body. Truly, he didn’t look very healthy.
His stomach bubbled uncomfortably, reminding him that he didn’t feel very healthy either.
So he moved a little down the beach, giving Claudette some space and himself some privacy. Then he waded out into the sea, the water feeling surprisingly warm on his skin as he rubbed away the lingering sick that had dried on him. At the same time, he sent a message to the Patron of the Sun, asking about the visions he had seen within the barrier erected by Elhume. He described the three individuals and the three scenes: the pool, the great hall, and the staircase.
Even now, those strong figures and the words they spoke to each other haunted him.
Then Randidly returned to the sand beach and collapsed for one of his naps. As he drifted off to sleep, he felt somewhat bitter in his heart. He unleashed a massive sigh and rolled onto his side. I’m really not… a big fan of naps… It’s just this First Authority leaves me so…
When he awoke, he had received a reply from Patron of the Sun. Unfortunately, it didn’t contain any useful information.
As I explained previously, none of us were included on the expedition to slay the ordained being of karma. But considering the context, it is very likely that black-haired young man is exactly that intimidating individuals. The three scenes you saw were also unfamiliar to me; none of the other Patrons recognized the locations you described or who might be speaking based on the words.
However, I might be able to provide some insight into the behavior of that ordained being of karma, who assisted you. This is a being that exists by deserving everything it receives. This provides them with domineering power, but there are also esoteric restrictions on their actions. Consider their behavior as perhaps a way to lay the foundation for their eventual escape.
Especially after having so many complex and confusing interactions with Don Beigon’s system of favors, this possibility made Randidly shiver. He pushed himself up in the sand and hoped that the Don was able to remove the rebels from his Skull of Truth and he wouldn’t have one more bad guy to handle in order to keep Expira safe from dangerous influences.
Just as he was going to head back over to Claudette, a familiar feeling rose in his chest: Reign of the Eidolon Crucible activated. Shrugging to himself, resigning himself to another instance of him sleeping in and making Claudette wait, Randidly laid himself down and let the Skill carry him away.
Very quickly, he felt a sense of relief that he could find no traces of Devick’s madness amongst the images of Kharon. Of course, it was possible that her lingering parasites were waiting in his current form for his return to his body, but that meant he had time to prepare.
At the very least, his mind was clear.
He soon arrived on the streets of Kharon, standing tall and proud on the grand steps in front of City Hall. The thoroughfares around him were packed with insubstantial bodies of the population. He sensed confusion from many of them; truthfully, it had been quite some time since the last Eidolon Crucible. Quite a few new arrivals marveled at this strange mass dream. However, he once more felt a steel core that formed the spine of their resistance.
A group of specter people, with the distinct tang of Tatiana and Derek Moss at their head, marched forward through the crowd and pointed at Randidly. They released a silent roar and suddenly Kharon mobilized both its collective image and its individual ones, aiming to attack Randidly and shred him to pieces.
This time-! The powerful roar of the populace said. This time we shall overcome you! We have grown!
Randidly smiled, considering for several seconds which of his recently learned lessons to teach the people of Expira. Then he shook his shoulders to rouse himself and began to weave a storm around him.
This was not his usual storm of natural force, but instead, Randidly tugged at the emotional energy in the surrounding dream. After dealing with Devick and Don Beigon, who both wielded emotional force effortlessly, he understood how surprisingly practical the hidden half of Aether truly was. It drew less attention than shape, but its flexibility and adaptability more than made up for that.
The attacks rushed toward Randidly, but he was in no hurry. He traced the lines of emotional resonance and used his insight from Synechdochence to create a proper environment. Then, just as the strikes were about to land, he used his superior emotional leverage to rip away the emotion, leaving them as unmoored shapes.
Congratulations! Your Skill Reign of the Eidolon Crucible (L) has grown to Level 402!
Congratulations! Your Skill Conviction of the Celestial Cataclysm (T) has grown to Level 605!
The insubstantial building projections began to sway as Randidly stole away emotional force and became the center of a monstrous force of nature. The image attacks slowed as they were buffeted by the flows of emotion and they bounced harmlessly away when they reached the core area. Without emotion steadying them, they couldn’t even touch him.
Randidly grinned. Then he unleashed the building emotional force, tearing down the buildings and blasting away the spectral population.
...
Congratulations! Your Skill Reign of the Eidolon Crucible (L) has grown to Level 521!
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Ah. Nothing quite as refreshing as being reminded how capable you’ve become, Randidly’s eyes snapped open. He sat up on the beach and inspected his condition. After stealing some emotional force from Kharon and also acclimating to the significance he plundered from Neshamah, he felt great. He scanned himself and steadily eradicated small remnant pockets of madness that had hidden away in his body. Then he directly used his powerful Nether to purge his body fully, finding a few more lingering shreds of Devick.
Finally confident he had survived, Randidly bounded to his feet and proceeded back across the beach to Claudette. She had settled herself in a wooden chair, spinning the strange coin across her fingers.
She glanced up at him before he could say something and tucked away the coin. “You are looking a bit better. Thanks, by the way. I owe you one.”
Randidly had questions about the coin and what it meant to Claudette. But from the tight lines at the corners of her eyes, he knew that now wasn’t the time to ask; she needed space to reach her own conclusions about what happened in the skull of truth. Instead, he said. “I’m sorta used to it. It’s been a rare day in the Nexus where my superior officers weren’t trying to murder me. Even Lady Iellaya, at the beginning, kept trying to push me into oblivion.”
A ghost of a smile came across Claudette’s face. “I can understand that feeling, I think. That pressure.”
For a few moments, there was an awkward silence. Randidly’s eyes flicked sideways to the two very straight divets that Don Beigon’s wheelchair had left in the sand. Then he cleared his throat. “What do you plan on doing now? If you need a place to stay-”
Claudette held up a hand. “Precisely because of how much assistance you gave me, I think it’s best if I spend some time alone, thinking about everything that happened. My image at the end… I felt something incredible. I saw a method to improve. I want to isolate myself and follow that for now.”
Randidly nodded. They looked at each other for a few more seconds. Randidly reflected on sharp Clarent had seemed, ripping through Tyune jelly-fish image. On the battlefield including Devick, Moonlight Blade, and Tyune, her image wasn’t very flashy. But the fact that it had held its own proved she had indeed made a breakthrough.
You finally understand, Randidly felt almost sad as he considered Claudette. That sensation; we improve or die. We triumph or are erased. The only way forward is to ascend. Hopefully… you can handle it.
“Good luck,” Randidly turned away. “I’m heading back. If you ever need a sparring partner, don’t hesitate to reach out.”
She didn’t answer. Randidly found an employee and followed her to the teleportation. There was a rush of energy and a sense of a weight being lifted off his body and suddenly the restrictions of Alymian were gone. He turned and looked up at the strangely empty platform within the Beigon Estate. He also remained still for several seconds, waiting to see if any insidious bits of Devick’s madness struck now that he returned to his body.
Nothing happened. Randidly released a sigh and pulled out his Philosopher’s Key to open a portal to his room in Edraine’s base. Walking through felt like a homecoming. After a long diversion, he had made it back to the Nexus. Claudette remained liberated. And Randidly-
He looked at his Status screen, measuring the gains he had made.
Randidly Ghosthound
Class: Lord of the Baleful Wood (x5)
Level: 63 (89%)
Health(/R per hour): 12051/13815 (9627)
Mana(/R per hour): 11198/13262 (3313)
Stam(/R per min): 8301/9696 (3317)
Uncommon Metabolism (Un): 1342
End: 1107
Primordial Nether Juju (M): 1492
Dreadful Alacrity (A): 1677
Grim Intuition (L): 1471
Reaction: 1537
Resistance: 1331
Willpower: 2079
Intelligence: 1385
Unnatural Capacity (Ru): 1267
Fidelity of the Ascendent Moirae (P): 2499
Focus: 1452
Nether Sphere
Fang of the Primeval Betrayal (M)
Weight: 1101 (+61) (+70) (+52) (+49) (+80) (+63)
Connections: 1,911,242,177
Scope: 16,309
Influence: 1,502,966
Synechdochence: 110%
First Authority: Seize
Skills (Soul Skill): Figure of the Alpha Cosmos Lvl 147,500 (Next 160,000)
Combat: Heavy Blow Lvl 234, Block Lvl 227, Calculated Blow Lvl 249, Roundhouse Kick Lvl 197, Idiosyncratic Cut (Un) Lvl 226, Stalemate Breaker Lvl 242, The March of Ruin and Valor (L) Lvl 201, (Domain) The Resonant Fangs of Extinction (M) Lvl 535
Moirae of Ripples (P): Cutting Tide of Amenonuhoko (T) Lvl 642, Unpredictable Eddy (L) Lvl 435, Dragon Queen’s Sinister Tongue (T) Lvl 520, Philosophy within the Boundless Deluge (M) Lvl 605, Motif of the Hungry Deep (P) Lvl 541
LoBW Class Skills: Earthquake (Un) Lvl 148, Erode Image (L) Lvl 100, Spriggit’s Tinkering (R) Lvl 257, Aether Understanding (A) Lvl 236, Aether Infusion Lvl 47, Conviction of the Celestial Cataclysm (T) Lvl 605, Fruit of the Planting of Enmity (L) Lvl 49, Cycle of the Gloomy Wood (R) Lvl 45, Lancers of the Baleful Crusade (L) Lvl 451, Torch of Fast and Slow Silences (A) Lvl 331, Sigil of an Approaching Fate (A) Lvl 266
Kismet of the Evolving Creature (P): Chimeric Impunity (M) Lvl 509, The Wandering Deity Demands (T) Lvl 410, Grit of the Ascendent Bane (T) Lvl 433, Maelstrom Entity Approaches (T) Lvl 470, The Ashen Doors to Pandemonium Unlock (M) Lvl 501, The Vindictive Chimera Smites (M) Lvl 395, The Wrathful Calamity Rends (T) Lvl 656, The Grey Creature Glimpses Providence (P) Lvl 432
The Stillborn Phoenix: A Star that Prayed it would be Reborn (P): Piercing Gaze of the Egg (L) Lvl 569, The Tug of Tragic Silence (A) Lvl 378, Cosmic Necessity (M) Lvl 561, Hallucination of the Bloodless Heart (T) Lvl 508, Breath of the Cosmos (T) Lvl 511, Stigma of the Stillborn Phoenix (L) Lvl 425, Revelation of the Atramentous Threshold (T) Lvl 500, Cursed Fates of the Unborn Duo (M) Lvl 886
Aether Skills: Aether Detection Lvl 356, Aether Manipulation Lvl 302, Living Aether (R) Lvl 265, System Interference Lvl 88, Aether Surgeon (Ru) Lvl 104, Lesser Aether Inoculation (M) Lvl 363
Crafting: Architecture of the Primordial Ways (M) Lvl 646, Touch of the Ghosthound (U), Scrawl of the Ghosthound (L) Lvl 275,
Yggdrasil, the Universe that was First a Tree (P): The World Tree Sips from Every Realm (T) Lvl 692, Aureate Arteries of Yggdrasil (T) Lvl 599, Yggdrasil’s Unruly Ichor (M) Lvl 416, Marred Yet Reliable Foundation of Yggdrasil (T) Lvl 636, the Inscrutable Mien of Genesis (M) Lvl 403, the Inexorable Toll of Exodus (T) Lvl 392, Reign of the Eidolon Crucible (L) Lvl 521, Absolute Grasp of Yggdrasil (T) Lvl 492
Auxiliary: Yggdrasil Soul Seed (R), Inspiration (R), Burning Footsteps Lvl 223, Cooking Lvl 101, Aether Connection (A) Lvl 21, Soul Bond Lvl 475, Nether Modification (U), (Domain) Crossroads of the Alpha Cosmos Lvl 361, Connection to the Alpha Cosmos (U), Nether Sensation (L) Lvl 657, Precise Nether Ritual (L) Lvl 498, Left Hand of the Nether Oracle (M) Level 570, Right Hand of the Nether Polymath (M) Lvl 599
In total, almost eight thousand PP. Randidly’s eyes glittered. Once I spend that, I’ll only be five thousand away from another PP Tithe-
However, just as he felt himself relaxing, he received a message from Commandant Wick.
Considering your recent actions in this Beigon debacle, I am initiating a formal disciplinary inquiry against you, Mr. Ghosthound. Please report to my office in the next six hours so you might be judged.