What surprised Randidly most was how warm the darkness was, even as it tried to rip and rend him into pieces with clumsy fingers. Its hapless touch almost made him smile; compared to the density his Nether Core had reached, this was nothing.

When its currents failed to penetrate through the barrier of Nether Weight he had conjured, it reverted to other tactics. The enormous Engravings made out of flows sought to confuse and mislead him, somehow externally folding his perspective so it became impossible to know in which direction he was heading. To his Nether and Aether senses there was only constant, rushing motion in the space around him. He sat in the eye of a shifting kaleidoscope.

Pressing his lips together, Randidly sank deeper and deeper into darkness to find the bottom.

In his first few attempts, he simply moved forward. Randidly focused in the same way he had to get through the previous layers, wondering if he would sink into an almost subatomic level of this place. Yet very quickly it became obvious he made no progress in this manner; the familiar sensation of proceeding to the next layer didn’t occur, even after an hour. He felt masses of significance in every direction, but without a tether, he kept losing track of them, confusing them, or feeling them fade from his awareness.

Maybe Elhume arranged for false signposts in this place, he mused to himself. If I had toward these attractions, what will I find?

Randidly nodded to himself; simply flailing around blindly would not help him here. The influence of the grand Engravings, although not enough to stop him, definitely kept him bound and confused. So instead, he followed the hint given to him by the strange old man next to the precipice. He focused on his goals, the reason he came here, the journey to save the Patron of Feathers. Almost immediately, a clear tether emerged, shooting off into the darkness.

For a while, he studied it without moving. Because even as he focused on it, he felt the tether twist and twirl, warped and dragged in strange directions by the Engravings. Soon the path became looping with several cut-backs on itself. Randidly clicked his tongue. Not that following this wouldn’t probably lead to his goal eventually, but it seemed this place had also been designed to make that journey as long as possible. Even now, it through up roadblocks in his path.

He gently examined the ethereal substance of the tether to understand it further. It was a weird mixture of significance, yes, but it also bore a significant portion of emotion. Perhaps the reason he could feel the way forward so clearly was his recent increase in emotional affect.

He moved his mind elsewhere, allowing that clear path forward to fade. Its winding distortions faded with it. Instead of returning to that true goal, Randidly probed the environment around him and was relatively delighted to discover a score of inert connections ‘glimmering’ in the darkness around him. And from what he could tell from these, they led to much closer locations. Less distance meant that the currents around him would cause less trouble.

And he could figure out what exactly the old man had meant when he said this place was a place of dream and desire, a lie about the past.

He selected one almost at random, choosing for the strength of connection and also for the relative shortness to the end goal. The constant folding of perspective made it almost impossible to tell for sure, but he believed this to be one of the quickest journeys in this abyss.

He focused on that tether and it hummed to life, creating a direct way forward to the destination. Immediately, the currents began to tug and twist to create veering and unnecessary curves. With a step, Randidly was off. He surged forward with a controlled amount of speed, blasting his way through the pesky currents of darkness to arrive at his destination.

To his surprise, he very quickly not only felt one but three familiar tingling sensations of proceeding to the next layer. In the periphery, he felt several of his other tethers go inert ‘behind’ him; it seemed that this was a situation where if you proceeded past your destination, you could no longer go back to it.

Whatever these destinations truly are, Randidly thought with narrowed eyes. If these prove useful, I’ll need to proceed carefully.

On what would have been the eighty-fourth layer, Randidly arrived before a distinct spot in the darkness. It did not produce light. Rather than that, it seemed rough and choppy. The fabric of the space, the constant raging of the flows, could not disturb this ugly core. Randidly reached out and brushed his fingers along the surface.

“Well, I guess I should have known,” He muttered in recognition. “These are artificial Nether Princes. Truly… a dream of different memories. How the hell did he make these…?”

Once he had studied the surroundings, he pressed his hand forward and sank into the memory-

-and sucked in a breath as he was suddenly standing in a wide plaza underneath a hot, red sun. A central fountain gurgled with green-tinted water, while children laughed and splashed in its shallows. Citizens in sweeping robes of various sophistication moved back and forth, their footsteps on the cobblestones rising to a constant babble, a conversation between shoe and stone.

If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

Most of the population seemed to be some anthropomorphic animals, wolves and sharp-beaked hawks or scaled, Lizakh cousins. A few were just loitering around at the periphery or selling fragrant sausages, but most were striding purposefully toward a tall, marble building at the end of the plaza.

As Randidly stood and gathered his bearings, he received several pointed glances from the passerbys. He couldn’t decide whether it was because he was human (or at least originally based on one), because his feet were bare, or because he wore a shirt and pants, while almost everyone else wore colored robes. However, he didn’t miss the unfriendly cast when eyes turned his way.

To his physical senses, he felt like he had arrived in an entirely different place. He flexed his fingers and felt the genuine power of his Stats still present.

This… is truly the end Second Cohort? So humans do not yet exist. And there is probably a significance to the robes… His other senses groped briefly in the air around him, but everything felt insubstantial; his Acute Nether Nose probes sent ripples through the life-like memory around him, as though too much digging would destroy the place. He took a breath for patience and retracted his senses. For now, his physical body would need to be enough. It seems time flows differently in the memory. So I should at least try and learn as much as possible about Elhume and his Patrons while I’m here-

Two changes happened simultaneously in the massive plaza. First, a robed individual came out of the building toward which everyone aimed and began ranging a bell. The wolverine humanoid’s voice carried across the entire space. “Come witness arrangements of incredible sophistication! At the knee of this honored individual, learn of the wonders of the natural world.”

But perhaps more importantly, a figure entered the plaza from the far side, where the white cobblestones gave way to dirt. This individual wore a pitch-black robe and had tusks jutting from his mouth. Yet what transfixed Randidly immediately, even through the muffling of his senses, was that this individual possessed a powerful Nether Core. Based on the power Randidly sensed through the haze of memory, this tusked individual was a Nether Herald and a powerful one at that.

A Nether Herald… walking freely in the Nexus? Randidly frowned. The Nether Wars should have already started… but I do think I remember that the worst of the fighting didn’t happen until the Third Cohort. The fighting that pushed Nether Kings to extinction. Also, from what Pullas and Fiona said… I wonder if this is before or after Elhume made a name for himself, taking down the fortress Wyndaos.

Apparently, the rest of the people here recognized the presence of the Nether warrior at about the same time. Tension skyrocketed and the few bits of laughter that had been present were shushed or choked off. Space opened up in the plaza, giving the black-robed a straight path to the building where the bell holding wolverine stood shocked. Parents pulled their children away from the suddenly silent plaza.

With a soft snort, the Nether Herald walked forward. For several seconds, nothing happened but his footsteps echoed across the open space. Randidly studied him, trying to figure out where and when in the Nexus he could be. Not only did he not have enough information about history, but he also came into this fake Nether Prince with the understanding that this was based upon a lie.

The Nether Herald glanced sideways at Randidly, an irritated and preoccupied expression on his face. However, as soon as their eyes met, Randidly felt his heart sinking. He had made a mistake.

Just because his Nether capabilities couldn’t be utilized, didn’t mean he didn’t possess them. His entire physical body had come into this memory.

“My… my liege!” The Nether Herald gasped and threw himself down to his knees. He touched his forehead to the cobblestones three times, making his tusks clink loudly against the stone. “My liege, I apologize for not recognizing you sooner and showing such disrespect. You-”

In the silent plaza, the words filled the air like a two-meter burst of flame in a library. The attention of every individual shifted to Randidly, the black-robed Nether Herald on his knees before him. Randidly’s eyebrow twitched, unsure of how to proceed. The coloration of the Nether Herald’s face curdled and he sent a panic-filled burst of significance between them, apologizing if Randidly was attempting to remain incognito while on his journey.

Randidly resisted the urge to rub his temples. Having people around here believe I’m a Nether King probably won’t make it easy to learn more… but at least being powerful might let me skip some troublesome interactions-

Very quickly a series of silver-robed individuals marched in formation out of some of the sidestreets. From the short interval from the words to their arrival, they must have been waiting around the plaza for a disturbance. They were not necessarily antagonistic, but their intent gazes were fixated on Randidly.

Randidly sighed inwardly. Why does trouble always find me like this…?

The Nether Herald scrambled to his feet. Nether began to swirl in the air around him. A dangerous and sloppily made Nether Ritual formed around him. His hands blurred as he relied on his body to guide the shaky ritual to completion with several fast hand signs. “My liege, please retreat from this place. I am resolved to protect you, considering I am the cause of this. The council will not let you leave Tatem easily, now that you have been discovered.”

It set the memory around Randidly to shuddering, but he raised a finger and tugged at the edge of the Nether Heralds Ritual, causing it to fall to pieces. The Nether Herald looked at Randidly in shock, but Randidly wasn’t sure how to explain. In the end, he simply shook his head. “I am not trying to hide my presence here. Don’t worry about it.”

Besides, from the sound of this Council, they might be able to provide more information about the timing, His eyes watched the approaching guards. The only risk is the presence of Elhume… but it feels like I can rip out of this memory cluster directly if I need to. If it feels like his attention reaches me, I’ll just rush up to the memory that the Patron of Feathers needs.

Everything else is a nice bonus chance for information, but I do not need it.