Right as he decided to let loose an simply challenge the Nether forces in front of him, Neveah nudged Randidly mentally. Even from afar, her disapproval radiated like out from her like the sun’s rays. This is a bad idea.

If we worked with the fabric of reality, this would be a dangerous gamble, Randidly acknowledged, watching as his blatant provocation warped the faces of the leading four Nether Kings who smelled like Maala into scowls. He flexed his fingers, adrenaline beginning to trickle through his system. But this is the Stillborn Phoenix. It was hewn from impossibility and craving. I’ve been careful, but I don’t think I should be.

Because you are growing impatient? Neveah snapped back with a fair amount of accuracy. You just realized the importance of two elements superimposed upon one another; think what other truths you could learn about your image if you would just-

Adding more than a single novelty to an arrangement makes the whole thing pointlessly complex. Randidly felt Nether unspooling through his body, the Nether organ within Sulfur no longer just a small piece of his body, but integrating and growing to support him. His body steadily evolved, the energies now sending experimental tendrils into his Soulspace. And maybe I am getting impatient, but I want to protect the people here. And how much time do we have to grow, Nev?

She didn’t respond. The Nether edged wind whipped at his face.

Meanwhile, the leader of the four Nether Kings glowered at Randidly. His fangs peaked past his thin lips. “...I can honestly say I’ve never been so disrespected in my life. I do not find the experience to my taste. If you stand in our way, you will be crushed.”

For the first time, the woman standing by the side raised her gaze and spoke. She possessed blunt humanoid features on her face, but also possessed glimmering dragonfly wings that remained still against her back. “This Nether King also exists outside of the guidelines of the Nether Arbiter. He could be an ally. Many arrangements will crumble and rebuilt in the furnace of war.”

“His behavior is aggravating,” Of the lead four grumbled, but they all did seem to consider the woman’s words.

However, Randidly couldn’t just wait around for them to make their decision: every second that passed meant the Nether Warriors slaughtered more of the defenders, threatening the lifeseal over Homewell. Now that he had made a decision, he intended to follow through. Besides, some part of him was itching for a fight, ever since he had controlled himself and remained passive in the confrontation between Elhume and Mae Myrna.

By fighting, he knew he would find his Path forward.

Despite the pain of a partially fractured image, the Stillborn Phoenix opened its hungry eye and gazed covetously at the world. It began devouring all the non-Randidly Nether in the surroundings.

Randidly smiled at the five as his image forced back their Nether. It took a single manifestation of Yggdrasil to irrevocably change the face of the battlefield. In an overwhelming juxtaposition to the first manifestation from the sapling earlier, Yggdrasil stretched up toward the sky and filled the environment with rustling green leaves. Its arrival released a powerful radiance that washed up against the advance of the heavy Nether and gave it pause; the history of the image had deepened to the point the Nether drill could not advance quite so easily.

Congratulations! Your Skill Dawn Opens the Sky and Reality Stirs (T) has grown to Level 900!

…

Congratulations! Your Skill Dawn Opens the Sky and Reality Stirs (T) has grown to Level 919!

“You-” The central figure’s eyes burned as the image forced him backward, but by then it was too late. The sapling had begun the work, but Randidly finished it. The ground outside of the embankment exploded. The oncoming Nether Warriors were ground to paste as thick roots etched with golden lines erupted from the ground, multiplied and splitting until a bristling, thorny forest glittered where they had been running. Blood and gristle dripped down the branches of this ghastly forest, already beginning to dry.

Before the roots of the World Tree, the body of an average Nether Warrior was nothing.

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Randidly released a second pulse of image, a split second after the first. Half of it was a blast of refreshing life energy, which reached and reinforced the two battles at other parts of Homewell, but the other half involved a shadow with a crooked smile. Those Nether Warriors that had broken through to the Aether lines looked up in horror at their companions’ demise and saw a twisted figure dancing closer. Raven feathers fluttered down, snowflake shaped shadows on the edges of their vision.

The Carrion reaped them all before the Nether Kings could even respond. It cackled and vanished into the dark recesses of the World Tree’s canopy. Several massive branches creaked and the leaves rustled.

“No wonder you capitulate to the Aether worms; you use their pretty tools.” The central Nether King spat, but despite his tone his body language shifted to radiate fear. Apparently all four had been taken aback by how quickly Randidly had annihilated their forces. Or perhaps it was the fact his images were not so easily displaced by their Nether.

Yet the dragonfly woman at the back smiled underneath Yggdrasil, her face suffused with wild joy. Her wings stirred, their pearlescent surface sparkling even from the small movement. “Stong. But strong enough to fight and and win? I wonder.”

The four looked at the dragonfly woman, their eyes wide and alarmed. “Illia, we are currently at war. Therefore, you must follow our instructions-”

“No one is perfect,” The dragonfly woman declared. When she raised her arms they seemed to levitate away from her slender torso rather than being moved by mundane musculature. Her slender fingers, she only had two long fingers on each ‘hand’, pinched the edge of her closed wings as they passed. The levitation pulled open her dragonfly wings, revealing resplendent, rippling rainbow patterns across the thin membrane. Those wings were just as much a work of art as they were a part of their body. Even Randidly felt oddly stunned by the whorls of pink, lime, and tangerine that spun across the wings.

“We begin,” Illia announced a split second before she blurred into motion. Suddenly Randidly Ghosthound faced a rainbow made flesh.

A violent, gleeful rainbow.

The Stillborn Phoenix sang in response, an event horizon rapidly developing around Randidly’s left hand. As the image shifted, Randidly suppressed the pain. He waved and unleashed a complex gravitation slash at Illia, but she spun sideways and avoided the attack. With a small flick of her wings, she darted forward. This time, Randidly moved sideways, avoiding her charge and pulling all the violent wind and incidental Nether flows into the seed of the storm he would created.

However, his expression rapidly fell as his attempts melted and shredded in his hands; in the wake of Illia’s passage, all the Nether whorled and tore itself away from his nudges. Randidly floated backward as he tried to study the effect, but the rainbow bent back on itself and shot toward his chest. Randidly’s eyes narrowed. His three images all came together in his chest. If you think I’m avoiding contact because I fear confrontation-

The First Tree Suffers Only Fealty. Chimera’s Suffocating Rebuke. Hypothetical Gaze that Consumes the Universe.

Congratulations! Your Skill Chimera’s Suffocating Rebuke (T) has grown to Level 1000!

…

Congratulations! Your Skill Hypothetical Gaze that Consumes the Universe (T) has grown to Level 950!

I wonder how many Mille that points me at, Randidly wondered. His three images moved together, trembling due to the pain and inconsistency of the Stillborn Phoenix, but quickly finding the balance to strike. Yggdrasil’s addition stabilized the energies in the environment, which remained chaotic due to the whorling patterns of Nether Illia released behind her.

It was a fascinating manipulation and one Randidly had never considered before. Especially against pattern focused Nether individuals, it was extremely effective. But it wasn’t so effective at an old fashioned punch.

The air and energy around them cracked when fist met rainbow. Fissures in reality briefly formed from the kinetic shockwave, but those quickly healed. Randidly grunted from the deep ache in the Stillborn Phoenix; the situation improved as he forced his way forward, but the image still felt tender.

Congratulations! Your Skill Stigma of the Stillborn Phoenix (L) has grown to Level 801!

Opposite him, the rainbow wing Illia let out a shocked gasp as Randidly’s blow stopped her dead and spiked her at the ground. She smashed into the root forest and pulped it with the same emotionless immediacy that the Nether Warriors had been ground into paste. The land cracked and shuddered.

Bits of protruding roots cracked and collapsed in the wake of her rapid descent, throwing up a cloud of dust. Randidly rolled his shoulder and observed the state of Homewell. With his arrival, the tide began to turn. The event horizon about his left hand grew larger, until it was the size of a volleyball. Light melted and a miniature storm crackled around the edges. He looked toward the ground.

But then his eyes sharpened and his hand flicked up to catch a stiletto aimed for his back. Despite the fact he stopped the strike, an invasive pattern shot forward and sank into the Nether of his body, throwing his energy into chaos. Randidly grimaced, but the rotations of his Nether Core and Nether Organ steadily ironed out the issue.

Illia blinked at him, the air behind her still rippling where she had used the chaotic patterns she left in her wake to step out of the Nether. Apparently, she spread this influence both to disturb opponent’s patterns but also to sink her own hooks into the energy.

She grinned at him and tossed the stiletto between her hands. “Indeed. As strong as hoped. Now let’s play a bit.”