Randidly observed Tuthak Eloise and his undulating tentacles beneath the bulging auspices of his white robe. My instincts still feel that he’s powerful, but don’t react especially strongly to his presence… but if he had the same strength in the Second Cohort that I sensed now… I might have missed a few details about the current him. Plus-

Congratulations! Your Skill Tapestry of Ten Thousand Radiances (M) has grown to Level 693!

The energy within the octopus man’s body was tense and looped together in layers so neat and tidy they had to be purposeful. Randidly’s Grim Intuition easily scanned and reacted to the outer layers, but his new awareness of energy allowed him to steadily pierce deeper and deeper into Tuthak to see that even brighter layers of energy were waiting within him under the ‘display’ layers. What he found there were waves of emotional power that he had only ever sensed from Devick at her most unhinged.

Maybe Tuthak has a chance to fight and overthrow Elhume after all, Randidly thought, almost uncomfortable with the prospect. And at the realization, there were still a few more powerful fighters in the Nexus he couldn’t fathom.

Mae Myrna stepped forward and brought Randidly’s attention back to the situation at hand. “Apologies for the delay, we ran into a bit of rough weather on the way over. But I’m sure we both know how important this issue is, there is no need for us to dawdle: provide your proof and we will return to Elhume with our report-”

“Wait,” The left white-robed figure interrupted. He raised a scaled finger and jabbed it at Randidly’s chest. “What about him? Why did you bring a Nether King to this meeting?”

Mae grinned. “Isn’t there a beauty in equity? There are three of you and three of us now.”

“You fucking brought a Nether King just to equal out our numbers?” The figure’s face was still hidden behind his cloak, but he released an ominous image of suffocating darkness. Randidly would have bet money he was glaring from within the shadows of the hood. “If those insane fools in Wyndaos hear about this meeting, they will attempt to interfere. We do not have the spare energy to handle the hassle of the Nether.”

“He gave his word. I trust him with my life,” Mae replied. She gestured vaguely toward Randidly. “Besides, don’t you just feel like he had to be here for this? But fine, I’ll give you a concrete reason. His honest curiosity is the sort of test we need; you’ve already primed us for what you’ll be showing us today, but he has no idea. His response… will be very informative.”

The left figure finally shut up at that, and Randidly gave Mae another glance. Beside him, Fiero groaned slightly but kept his peace.

“Fine then,” Tuthak said. He produced a small metal box covered in glittering Engravings. They flashed and flare quickly, clearly on the verge of breaking down under the pressure of containing whatever was within the box. The lock rattled. His beady eyes fixated on each of them for a single second. Then he disengaged the lock and pulled back the lid.

Randidly felt his body gasping, but he was somewhere else. An intoxicating golden radiance seeped out of the open box; it was like standing on top of the most rugged mountain range and having a sunset occur only a few meters away from where he was standing. The majesty was so close to him that he could see the minute details of its every aspect; he couldn’t decide where to dedicate his attention. Waves of light and color seeped in hazy, almost artistic lines. A series of overlapping halos surrounded the central wisp of energy that caused the phenomenon.

His Nether Core began to rev like a drunk farmer trying to start a lawnmower.

Congratulations! Your Skill Tapestry of Ten Thousand Radiances (M) has grown to Level 700!

Even as he continued to stare into the light they released, he felt pulled deeper into the displayed beauty. He shot through each one of the hoops of energy in turn, the vision he saw transforming with each advance. The whole vista changed. Wheels of patterns, shapes and connections and emotions and fulfillment, surged around him. He swam through a sea of golden and orange musical notes, humming and carrying him forward. He continued to accelerate, even as the light began to dim.

A hint of anxiety seized his heart: whatever had been in the box had been put there to keep it alive, not to prevent others from seeing it. Even now, the gorgeous purity of the patterns began to degrade and shudder from contact with the world.

Congratulations! Your Skill Tapestry of Ten Thousand Radiances (M) has grown to Level 800!

Randidly couldn’t breathe; he had become one with the patterns before they collapsed entirely. His consciousness sank deeper and deeper, imitating their cyclical shapes. He had always been one with the patterns, he just hadn’t been able to see the way he connected with the universe around him. The past, the future, the present, all of them spread out like infinite overlapping maps. A map onion, each layer pasted on top of the next. And in the fading core-

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Congratulations! Your Skill Tapestry of Ten Thousand Radiances (M) has grown to Level 900!

Sleeping in the core of the fading light, in the middle of the waltzing golden patterns was a young figure. Literally the most beautiful person Randidly had ever seen, even though they were just a child. They were perfection personified, their body wrought with the finest materials. And all he had to do was see the profile to recognize what he was seeing.

“Shallah,” Randidly breathed. He tried to memorize the details of the figure. Because his instincts told him that he was looking on the slumbering consciousness of Pine.

Only a split second later, the radiance could no longer exist. The light winked out. All the patterns collapsed; the certainty and awareness faded like a mirage. The shard of energy, the breath of the Shallah that the trio had brought in the box, dissipated into the empty air. Randidly was left sitting on the ground, unsure of when he got there. Fiero had similarly fallen, while Mae stood stiffly in front of them.

Tuthak laughed. “You heard it, right from his mouth. We weren’t lying to Elhume when we said his son would wake up soon. We just need his help to go back to the core and assist in his awakening.”

“If that was true, why didn’t Elhume see Pine when he split this universe and emerged in the core of this place?” Mae asked.

Tuthak shook his soft head. “You are talking about right when he created the Nexus, yes? His son was still adapting to his new form. Just like a baby needs to grow and develop before they can communicate even with their own kin, a universe needs some space before it condenses its living spirit. Anyway, you have your proof. You know how to find us. All Elhume needs to do to see his son is bring the key.”

Randidly’s barely heard what they were saying. He felt torn between the lingering memory of what he had seen in that wisp of energy and the notifications that were popping up in front of him.

Congratulations! Your Skill Tapestry of Ten Thousand Radiances (M) has grown to Level 1000!

Congratulations! Due to resonance with your body, your Skill is evolving!

Congratulations! Your Skill Tapestry of Ten Thousand Radiances (M) has evolved into The Infinite Incendiary Filaments of the Dove Moirae (P)(U). Skill Level will be maintained!

Infinite Incendiary Filaments of the Dove Moirae (P)(U): The unique blend of talent and effort created by Randidly Ghosthound as he seeks to master both Aether and Nether. Only usable due to his remade body and incredibly high Stats. Pushed to the Pinnacle due to encountering several clues and a genuine remnant of the Shallah during his travels. Allows the observation and categorization of all energies that can be imagined. The shadow of the Apostate Moirae lays heavily across the Skill, birthed in a false memory that should not exist. With the Skill, it is possible to encounter several energies that never existed. By sensing the energies, control over other energies becomes slightly easier. Provides Randidly Ghosthound with extensive information on his opponents with just a glance. Provides an intuitive understanding of the universe and interactions between various energies. Vastly boosts the creation of Engravings and Nether Rituals by Randidly Ghosthound. Effects increase with Skill Level.

If earning Tapestry of Ten Thousand Radiances and engaging with his new senses had left Randidly stunned, this completely erased his senses. In the end, everything was energy; all matter was simply filaments burning at different frequencies. He floated there, within the sphere of his new Skill, simply growing accustomed to the feeling.

But unlike the wild and constant pressure he had grown accustomed to, this Skill was his, totally and completely. As he pulled back, the flows around him grew more muted. He found himself still sitting, the trio who had brought the wisp of the Shallah in the box had vanished, leaving only mud puddles in their wake.

Mae crouched in front of him, offering him a cup. “Want some water?”

Randidly nodded and took the drink. He began trying to organize his thoughts while his throat moved. Because while he felt a certain sort of excitement to know he stumbled across the main even of this particular memory, there was a problem.

Yes, he had witnessed a fraction of what a Shallah could accomplish. The natural order generated by this being was indeed enough to create an entire alternate universe. It gave entirely new meaning to the term Pinnacle. He suddenly understood Neveah and the Pantheon’s worry entirely; just training wouldn’t bridge that gap, even if Elhume had only partially made it to the Pinnacle.

However.

However, Randidly had felt no connection of significance to the present when he had looked upon Pine’s sleeping form. Which meant that the Pine he had seen there didn’t exist by the time of the Seventh Cohort.

What he didn’t know was whether that meant that innocent being came to a bad end or whether the display he had just seen had been faked. Both seemed vaguely impossible, but for different reasons: How could a universe’s spirit be killed or removed? Alternatively, if this faction in white robes was powerful enough to fake a Shallah, why were they messing around and trying to head to the core of the Nexus?

“You are probably curious about that group, right? I dragged you into this, so I’ll try and give some context,” Mae said. Distantly, Randidly heard Fiero sigh. “That group is called the Savior Cult. They didn’t appear until the Second Wave; most of their number came into the alternate universe purposefully. It is pretty apparent that this wasn’t the first alternate universe they entered into. We… believe the core group of that faction is ancient beyond reason. Thousands or tens of thousands of years old. Obviously, Elhume was deeply suspicious when they contacted him, trying to tell him that his son was still alive, and about to wake up. But this…”

Mae trailed off. She frowned down at the ground. Even her good cheer seemed to fade somewhat. When she looked back up at Randidly, her eyes were shining. “You saw him too, didn’t you? Pine. It wouldn’t be right not to try and help him, now that we know he’s there.”