Randidly felt muscles along his jaw tighten in response to the Turtleline’s words. Arrested for murder, huh? Even in death, that Swacc bastard found ways to cause trouble for him. The surprise of sensing such an immediate kinship with this Turtleline woman’s image was a pleasure, but her follow-up words brought him slamming back into the reality of the situation.

Without Nether due to the lifeseal and with the Stillborn Phoenix frozen, he had only two images with which to fight. Not that he thought he couldn’t just force his way out of the encirclement, but he hesitated because he wanted to linger in Homewell for a little longer. Both to make sure Charlotte Wick wasn’t in any serious trouble and also for his main goal in coming here: speaking to the Nether Arbiter.

Randidly would have worried about Devick before, but after sensing that mass of greed bubbling away in her stomach, it was hard not to be wary. The path to her transforming into the monstrously cruel Devick he had known in the present seemed clearer than ever.

Yet just as the resolve for violence collected in Randidly’s gut, the elderly Turtleline continued speaking with an even tone. “Since you have now come into my custody and I speak on behalf of Homewell’s ruling council in times of emergency and holy days, I see no reason to waste time with delays; the trial will happen now, this very instant. Guards, please clear a space so we can have a semblance of legitimacy. Justice will preside.”

Randidly’s eyes widened and he almost instinctively released another tentacle of energy, Yggdrasil reaching out for the Turleline’s seed, seeking a confirmation. He received a playful release of energy in return, both invisible and far too subtle for any of the other individuals present to distinguish. Life energy was a language spoken by very few. Randidly felt himself relaxing, despite knowing so little about the individual who grasped their fate.

Although, perhaps the reason she is being so helpful is she understands what would happen if Homewell really tried to war against me, his skin prickled. His gaze traveled upward to the swirling maelstrom of Nether hanging above the city. The offensive had abated for now, but the flow of events would soon bring the hammer of war viciously back around.

There were no details in the prophecy, but Randidly intuited that Homewell would bear the brunt of the next attack.

Devick’s mouth firmed into a hard line as she tensed next to him, even though she also sensed something was amiss with the announcement of a rapid trial. To make sure she didn’t lash out, Randidly reached out and pressed the cool fingers of his left hand against her arm, right above the elbow. She pivoted, already displaying some of the monstrous grace she had obtained by the present, and offered him a crinkled-eye smile that did little to reassure him.

Randidly rolled his eyes. If you are smiling so warmly, that just means you definitely were about to do something very dumb.

Please, let’s at least give this Turtleline the woman not to antagonize us before we lash out.

Meanwhile, the Turtlelines were shuffling into a square around their position, looking uncertain. The massive Turtleline with the golden shell engaged in a very intense conversation with the leader. He waved his arms like his words were finding so little purchase he had to use his limbs to grab attention. Clearly, he didn’t agree with whatever nonsense she intended. And he continued to voice his doubts until she vigorously shooed him away, adding enough image power behind the gesture to buffet him back a step.

She glided forward, suddenly with all the poise and certainty of a responsible leader. “Excellent. Now, shall we begin? First, let us clarify the crimes brought against Nether King Hungry Eye. For the prosecution… as the one most familiar with Homewell’s laws, I will take that responsibility upon myself.”

What followed was one of the most blatantly sham trials Randidly had ever seen. They blazed through the various procedural ticks of Homewell justice so quickly that his head was left spinning. The only obvious fact was the outcome; He came away declared completely innocent, due to his immense contributions to the war against Nether, and feeling vaguely dirty.

“If there is nothing else, let us not waste any more of this war hero’s time.” The old woman, who still hadn’t introduced herself throughout the whole process, led the Turtlelines away. All she left in her wake was a glance over her shoulder and a subtle swirl of energy: come speak to her before he departed. Still confused, most of the armored guards could only be pulled along by her influence. Of them all, only the gold-shelled individual blatantly expressed his displeasure, growling through the entire charade like a pitbull watching blood drip off a juicy pig haunch.

Not that Randidly could blame him: the woman had called on Devick of all people to offer a professional opinion, as a soldier, which was a more important event for the war: Swacc’s death or the wound on the Nether Leader.

Right as the rest of the Turtlelines had almost completely vanished, Goldie paused and straightened, aiming a vicious glare at Devick. Randidly felt a prickle of defensiveness as Goldie included the solidity of his image in the gaze to pressure her. But she lifted her chin and ignored him.

When Goldie shifted his glowering to Randidly himself, the newly pardoned Nether King dropped any pretense of civility. His gaze burned with the fanaticism of the Dread Homunculus, an artificial being designed to accomplish goals. The irises of the image remained Randidly’s owned, but the pupils were vastly different. Not an aperture to allow in light, but a deep abyss into which light continually vanished.

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Goldie turned away and marched after his fellows with very quick steps.

“Alright, now let’s go see this refugee you picked up, yes?” Randidly turned to Devick.

She eyed him suspiciously. “Did you have a relationship with that old turtle? I mean, she was right that you definitely won a huge victory for the Aetherlands, but to just let you off like that-”

Randidly had no doubt that a very unlikely thought occurred to Devick based on her rapid paling. Weirdly, Randidly felt like he could see through her ridiculous antics and follow her train of thought. He snorted; it was a genuine surprise to think her first conclusion was that the Turtleline woman was an old ex-girlfriend, and then to wonder how old Randidly truly was, and then to consider whether that age bothered her.

Honestly, Randidly’s one true frustration was how quickly Devick settled on a massive age difference not being a problem and offering him a shy smile. You realize I’m only… okay well, it’s hard to keep track. Probably mid-thirties? Gah.

…not that it matters.

“...I genuinely have no idea why that happened. But I’ll need to visit her before I leave Homewell, so I suspect there will be a price somewhere.” Most of Randidly’s amusement fell away. Then he shook his head; he had too much to do. Here, and elsewhere. The more he learned about the memory, the more directions he split his attention. “Alright, lead on.”

As they began to move, Devick started a stream of constant chatter narrating the earlier events of the day, playing the role of herself and several exaggerated impressions of Turtlelines, which led to her obtaining all of the darkness of the Turtleline people. Even only partially listening, Randidly felt amused that he wasn’t the only one that produced negative emotional cores.

Yet he had difficulty remaining in the present. Echoes of the insights he had felt while within the Reverie kept returning to him, filling him with certainty at strange moments and then disintegrating to water vapor and ash when he attempted to grasp them. And then there was the matter of Mae Myrna, who the Prophet had believed completely that would be the individual they unleashed Elhume and the Hierarchy of Karma to display.

His awareness flickered over to Neveah, who had forcefully told him she would go anyway to the East, to find the truth. She shoved him away, almost playfully, both enjoying and not enjoying that he was the worrier in this situation.

But what does this mean for Duo? That being I felt in the lake during the challenge for Claudette…

Randidly remained in the slog of his thoughts until they reached the populated areas of Homewell. He had noticed some of the festivities when he had rushed to Devick’s location, but there was a difference between feeling the buzz of activity through the medium of the Alchemist’s Passport and watching Turtleline and Homid and Lizakh children shrieking and chasing each other through the crowd. More than anything, the smells of street food led Randidly by the nose to being present.

Devick perked up, “You want some food? I know the best place for fish pockets. Steamy, delicious goodness. The fish are ugly buggers; underground river eels with bulging eyes and flat heads. But their ugly exterior just makes it more satisfying to crunch em’. My treat.”

Randidly didn’t want to waste time, but this time Neveah peaked into his life and scolded him for being too hasty. She was en route to Mae Myrna and would have a better idea of the weird energy in the East once she saw her. In the meantime, he could eat a fucking meal.

The two passed easily through the crowd. Although Randidly was the only one not wearing robes, although a lot could be understood about a person’s economic situation by the wear of their clothing, they didn’t draw much attention. Jubilation seemed at the forefront of most of the civilians’ lives, shouting and laughing and drinking after a long period of being under siege.

Randidly watched them, almost sad. He even heard his name, attributed as helping Fatia Cerulean strike a decisive blow against the Nether Leader. Yet despite the propaganda, Randidly knew that the fight had not resulted in any serious injury to their opponent. More than anything else, Enmya hesitated now because of confusion and indecision. His confidence had been shaken.

And with that small shake, cracks had emerged in the unity of Nether’s purpose. Sure, the opposition withdrew for now. But only because some of the Nether Heralds felt emboldened to question giving Enmya leadership. Undoubtedly they would be back soon, with a much less… focused goal in mind.

Perhaps even with the intention of annihilating Aether beings altogether.

Eventually, they reached Devick’s favorite stand. Randidly breathed deeply and suddenly his stomach announced its enthusiasm for the diversion. But when she offered coins to the hunched Turtleline, he scowled at them. “You foreign soldier types… can’t use coinage right now. Need to go to the temple and convert to lifebeads.”

He picked up a basket and waved it under their noses. Inside, green and mahogany little beads sparkled, radiating a clear aura of life. Randidly found them fascinating and leaned closer to study the pattern, which of course caused the suspicious stall owner to yank the package back.

Devick glared right back. “I come here all the time! We literally bought fish pockets for coins earlier! You know I’m good for it. I’ll pay double when I come tomorrow.”

The Turtleline favored Devick with a squint, but then shrugged. “Pah. How can I believe that? All you softbacks look the same.”

“You piece of shit-” Devick put her palm against the wood of his stall, clearly intending to hop over, but Randidly intervened.

Congratulations! Your Skill Infinite Incendiary Filaments of the Dove Moirae (P)(U) has grown to Level 1140!

Congratulations! Your Skill Yggdrasil’s Plasm Animus (P) has grown to Level 931!

He clenched his right fist and wove life energy into a particular pattern. Once you knew the shape, counterfeiting was quite simple. “Here, I have some lifebeads.”

“Shoulda jus’ said so,” The Turtleline muttered as he passed over the steaming pastries to the two of them. And as Randidly took a bite of the food and tasted the savory, curried fish within, he felt something within him relax.

Learning more context about the Second Cohort had only confused him, but he would soon take a step toward better understanding by meeting the Nether Arbiter. For now, that was enough.