Randidly came back to himself slowly, buoyed up through his unfocused state by the feeling of surprise by how deeply he had fallen asleep, almost immediately after he had relaxed. Gradually, the physical sensations of sitting in the fifty-ninth layer came back to him. The sounds of images clashing against each other, the smell of roast beef, laughter, and the hint of music spreading throughout Tuthak Eloise’s gathering. The heat of bodies and good cheer.

The Upper Sonara Society, huh. Randidly pursed his lips. Can this group really threaten Elhume? And if they do… where does that leave me?

The thought felt vaguely threatening. The absence of a hurdle, long predicted to bar the path. Since he had found his footing under the System, Randidly was trying to create space for Expira and the other planets of the Alpha Cosmos to learn and grow without the threat of Elhume. If someone else managed to solve that problem, he would be left holding the bill for all the psyche-straining effort he had poured into the process of getting stronger and no closure.

Afterward… as Fiona’s image had pointed out, Randidly had no idea what he would do with himself. For now, he flexed his hands. Yet no sooner had he begun stringing coherent thoughts together than the Grey Creature began to growl. It started as a low warning, but rapidly the psychic strain rose to dangerous levels.

He clenched his jaw and leaned forward, dark thoughts stabbing into him. The emotions from the Alpha Cosmos squeezed him, almost seeming to surround his whole personality and do its best job to squash him underneath its weight.

His Nether Core whirled. He endured. This amount of pressure wasn’t enough to break him. With a rest fueling him, he made it through until the emotional sewage poured into the Grey Creature began to fade and his brain settled back into working order.

Gratefully, Randidly allowed another thought to rise and distract him; these last few layers had been filled with strange bits of information. The Hierarchy of Karma left a strong impression on him, even now. He remembered the competition for Claudette, the strange lake he had been forced into my Devick’s projection, and the seething shadow he had felt beating in the core of that lack.

Was that one of the missing pieces that had been cut away from the being bound within the Hierarchy of Karma?

Rolling his shoulders, Randidly stood. He did a few more stretches, loosening up his arms and hamstrings. The small exertion caused blood and Nether to begin running rapidly through his body, firming himself in the present. He drew a deep breath in and then released it with purposeful slowness.

He focused his thoughts on the feeling of air and sun on his skin, the soft echoes of the jubilations around him. Gradually, the tension in his body vanished. He took another deep breath, preparing himself for the dinner that would follow. The movements of the Nether told him it was time to say goodbye.

He began to move and found Fiona sitting on a hill, watching the High Sonara Society engaging in their revelry. After a brief hesitation, as he stifled another bit of emotional indigestion from the Grey Creature, he walked up to join her. “Can I ask you a favor?”

Fiona blinked and then nodded. She didn’t seem to have even noticed his approach until he spoke. Some of that stiff blankness had returned to her expression. Randidly inwardly reviewed his memories of the last few layers; how long had they gone without Fiona oscillating between a fake, supercharged smile and that brittle mask?

He tried to keep his shoulders from slumping. The Grey Creature gurgled again, acidic and slightly desperate. Yggdrasil and the Stillborn Phoenix hummed with worry. So Randidly forced himself forward. “After… the group splits I hope you’ll travel with Pullas. I swear as soon as I finish, I’ll come find you two.”

Fiona managed a somewhat lopsided smile up at Randidly. “Randidly, this role as emotional guide of the group doesn’t suit you. But it’s nice to know you noticed her increasing… well. I had planned on it anyway. And to be honest-”

Fiona paused. Then she shook her head. “Anyway. I’ll be watching her, that’s for sure.”

You were about to say that you needed her just as badly as she would need you, weren’t you? Randidly thought. Guilt squeezed his stomach, but he nodded and walked down the slope. He felt Fiona get up behind him and wander down in a different direction.

When Randidly returned to the party, the mass of bodies had clustered around Xershi, who was furiously engaging in a high-speed match of some chess variant. The board was an extra space both in length and width. And occasionally, instead of moving a piece, they would twist one of the extra pieces given to them, which seemed to alter its movement capabilities. After every move of the heavy wood pieces, the two competitors’ hands shot out and slammed a small mechanism. Randidly squinted and saw that on the clock each individual had about forty-five seconds.

Abruptly, the furious motions stopped. Both Xershi and the willowy woman opposite him stood. Xershi reached up and rubbed the back of his head. A small, playful smile danced on the woman’s lips. “Certainly, an enthusiastic challenger. But your understanding of the game is shallow. You will need several years to master these rules.”

Xershi stuck out his chin. “If you let me have a rematch, I’ll prove you wrong right fucking now.”

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The woman sighed theatrically but sat back down in her seat. The surrounding spectators rolled their eyes and began the quiet process of betting how long it would take for Xershi to lose. Randidly turned away; Xershi probably needed his own alone time right now.

He glanced at his surroundings. The flood of information upon their arrival to the layer had been so rapid that Randidly hadn’t gotten a good look around at the environment earlier. They were situated on a low plateau next to a fat body of water so large and sluggish that Randidly couldn’t quite tell whether it was a sprawling lake or a weak-currented river. The edge of the plateau sat to the West, leading to low rolling hills that stretched out for as far as Randidly could see.

He went to the edge of the plateau and was surprised to see Pullas and Fiona down there already, engaged in a heated discussion. Through the Ascension Pact Nether Ritual, he could feel how high their emotions were running, especially Pullas. Her desire to protect flailed almost visibly with her every gesture.

Randidly reached up and rubbed his eyes with his palm. He wasn’t sure if she would try and fight against him going forward alone, but some of the tension was coming back into his shoulders.

So he pivoted, putting that conversation off until dinner. Instead, he walked over to the cooking area where he found two individuals, including the humanoid with vulture wings, engaged in a heated argument over how rare meat should be. In a break both took to inhale before continuing, Randidly stepped forward and pointed to an open grill. “Can I use that?”

The vulture man gestured confirmation and gave Randidly no further thought. “No pleasure in the world can compare to the tang of fresh blood-”

“Such a carnivorous thing to say,” The talking bulldog shook his head, sending his jowls spinning around his face. “However, we speak not of savage wild persons, struggling to survive. We speak of cuisine-”

Randidly rolled his eyes and pulled some meats from his interspatial ring. He picked a recipe he had learned from Nrorce and began to cook. The measurements and precise focus helped him ride out the growing pain he felt resonating up through the Grey Creature.

*****

Fiona looked around the table. Xershi leaned back in his chair, affecting disinterest. Yet she could see the liger’s nose twitching frantically as Randidly manipulated gravity to bring another plate of steaming food to the table. She surreptitiously pressed her lips together, trying not to drool at the spread he had brought.

Expertly roasted poultry was swimming in a thick and hearty gravy/stew, made after several hours of adding spices, carrots, and onions to a broth. Thick stocks of asparagus had been charred just slightly over the fire and then sprinkled with sliced almonds. Randidly had made some sort of citrus puree which he spread across chopped lettuce and spinach with crumbled goat cheese.

Roasted sweet potatoes and a savory rice dish filled with bacon rounded out the meal. Fiona’s nose continued twitching as she took it all in, laying together on the table.

“Our last dinner together,” Pullas said quietly, displaying a remarkable ability to ignore the food and simply focus on Randidly. Her eyes were intense and strangely haunted. Randidly met her eyes and the two of them stared at each other for several long seconds. Fiona had to admit that her prep conversation with the other woman… hadn’t gone well.

But that was partially because of her own unstable emotions.

Xershi pointed at the plates after this staring contest started to drag on. “So, is this just self-serve?”

The interruption brought everything back on track. Like a child throwing a tantrum, Pullas pouted and slowly filled her plate with the various foods. Xershi happily began devouring the meal cooked by Randidly, the gears in his throat grinding up everything to nutritional paste; Fiona wondered if he even appreciated how good the food was.

She didn’t miss the way that some of the individuals from the strange Upper Sonara Society drifted over, looking with blatant longing at the food. Randidly had used his image somehow to refine the food and the results spoke for themselves.

For a brief time, she could lose herself in the eating.

Fiona took her time, closing her eyes with each bite. She directed all of her attention to the tongue, trusting that the powerful individuals here wouldn’t suddenly ambush them in a fit of covetous gluttony. She existed entirely through her tastebuds. She found herself trembling. When she opened her eyes, she was surprised to discover her plate empty. She refilled herself and continued the glorious meal.

“We’ve talked some to the people here, while you were resting,” Pullas looked up from picking at her food. Most of the intensity had vanished from her eyes, but each glance still came across like an accusation toward Randidly. “They are always vague about the details, but the group truly seems intent to antagonize Elhume when they leave the Sonara. We… well, I plan on traveling with Fiona to help her find out what Devick did with her husband. Perhaps when you are finished-”

“I’m going it alone,” Xershi spoke around a mouthful of food. “Like I said, I think I just need some time alone-”

“Xershi,” Pullas seemed torn between irritation and a newfound concern for the metal liger. Fiona saw concern win out on her face. “It might be easier to travel with us first for a while until you get your bearings. I’m not sure how things are going right now, but I have a lot of connections that might be able to help you.”

Fiona began to realize it wasn’t just her. The whole table was tense, which was why they had several long minutes of silence. Just each one of them coped in a different way. It was just somewhat concerning to her that her method of eating to cope seemed to be the most mature.

“I don’t want the help. I want-” Xershi’s face twisted, for the first time some of his inner worry showing through. But very quickly, he covered it up. With a decisive gesture, he pushed himself back from the table. “Well, it doesn’t matter. We’ve done it, guys. We climbed all the way up here. However, I think it’s time for me to go. I want to get a bit of a head start. I really… really need to spend some time finding myself.”

That declaration sent reverberations through the Ascension Pact.

Randidly finally looked up from his own plate. “Xershi.”

The liger man stiffened. “What?”

Randidly stood and slowly stretched out his hand. “It’s been a pleasure. We really couldn’t have done it without you.”

Within the Ascension Pact, the Nether Ritual Randidly had created began to come undone. After a pause, Xershi shook Randidly’s hand; Fiona could practically see the potency flowing out of the tattoo on the metal man’s body. Xershi then shook Fiona’s hand and went in for a handshake with Pullas, but the slight woman sprung up and wrapped him up in a hug.

Then Xershi left. Everyone at the table looked vaguely like they needed to vomit but were suppressing the impulse.