With the smile of Randidly Ghosthound fixed upon him, the Nether King knew he needed to quickly make a decision. Before the ominous ripples of translucent significance made the air of the Alpha Cosmos any more hostile.

The problem was that none of his options appealed to him. Fleeing was possible but would mean that this opportunity was lost. And the particular requirements for the Nether King’s plan could not be compromised. Fighting seemed even more foolish, but the more that the Nether King looked at Randidly Ghosthound, the more he wondered about that.

Because the Ghosthound felt strange, for two separate reasons.

First, although a body was in front of him in possession of both dense Nether and his usual overwhelming images, Randidly Ghosthound didn’t seem to exist. His body was present, and yet it was not. The Nether was there, knotted up and rushing through the beating heart of the Alpha Cosmos, but also the space was hollow. Perhaps, then, this was just a reflected manifestation.

However, more alarmingly, there was an overwhelming sense of connectedness to the current Randidly Ghosthound. The Nether King couldn’t sense the edges of his patterns. He seemed to have expanded to encompass everything. Even him-

The Nether King felt a chill run through his body. He wasn’t sure how he knew, but he had the distinct sensation that the Ghosthound had just reached within him and taken the knowledge of what he was doing here with just as much subterfuge as the Nether King had used to sneak into the Alpha Cosmos. Just like that, the third option of subterfuge vanished.

‘Kid, the joy about treating everyone else like they are idiots is that it becomes true,’ His father had once said, flicking the young Nether King in the forehead. ‘Just don’t forget that you are included in that everyone. And finding out you are right in the worst way about yourself… can be rough.’

“What the hell is this?” The Nether King whispered as he examined the other man, wreathed in a network of strange, undulating connections. The more he tried to follow them, the more he tried to trace the source of that taken knowledge, the more the patterns spiraled into themselves.

“A Reverie,” Randidly Ghosthound said rather casually. The flow of significance around them stilled He tilted his head to the side and his smile disappeared. “You are here to take Helen’s Nether Prince, in order to-”

Randidly Ghosthound frowned. The awareness and thoughtfulness in his expression deepened. “You want to build a Shallah, from scratch, purposefully. Huh, that’s actually a pretty interesting idea. But… I don’t think it will work, not in the way you want. In fact, I can guarantee you that it won’t— you’ll fail for the same reason that Elhume could never quite master the Nexus, even though he reached the Pinnacle twice. This sort of existence… I do not think it can be made just by going through the motions.”

The Nether King considered this being who had so rapidly risen to power. He couldn’t help but offer a bitter smile. “Perhaps not before, but you have altered the fundamental fabric of the Nexus. The materials I am gathering are of the highest quality. And I believe, with the weight of history behind me, I can finally achieve a modicum of safety for my people. Their should have earned as much with their suffering.”

The Ghosthound’s emerald eyes flashed. “I have not made the Nexus more fair, Nether King. And I have been very firm in stomping out all notes of deserving. If you think my actions have altered a function of the Nexus, you have missed the point.”

The Nether King acknowledged the oversimplification with a shrug but didn’t back down. This was the chance, and he was not going to miss it. The two individuals looked at each other for a long time. The Nether King tried to keep the patterns around his body smooth, without allowing them to wiggle into more violent developments. He observed the crystalline significance released by the Ghosthound, but still found it to be somewhat unfathomable. Should it come down to a confrontation between the two of them, he would need to strike swiftly.

“Do you truly believe you can succeed?” The Ghosthound asked.

The Nether King nodded. “In other areas, I am not your match. But in terms of prayer and hope… I have the utmost confidence in my accomplishments. The long wait of my people has not been in vain. This time of upheaval is the opportunity we have been waiting for.”

To his great surprise, Randidly Ghosthound stepped to the side. He gestured down into the ravine. “Go ahead. I… don’t have a good track record of giving up control, but you truly believe in what you are doing. It’s a good bit of magic. To that end… you can have this Nether Prince. In exchange for a favor; do not begin your attempt until you receive my signal. Are we agreed?”

The Nether King blinked very slowly. “...I do not know your current struggles, but I suspect that the fight for the soul of the Nexus remains. What if you lose and cannot provide this signal to me?”

The Ghosthound snorted. “That’s fair I suppose. You can consider my death or any great weakening to be a symbol that you need to start the process, lest you miss your chance.”

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For a second, the Nether King wavered. But he still couldn’t quite accept it would be this easy. He didn’t take a step forward. “Why? I understand, how valuable a companion Helen was to you. I can feel the significance that exists between you and the Nether Prince. Yet you would provide it to me? What… am I missing?”

Randidly Ghosthound turned away and was quiet for several seconds. The significance in the area remained relatively still, but it gathered closer. Weaker individuals would have suffocated underneath its pressure. It was a hard lesson to swallow. A short time ago, the Nether King felt confident he could handle this man. Yet now only his grief was enough to strangle the life out of the unlucky.

Randidly sighed. “...perhaps what you are missing are the human chunks of relationships that don’t make sense. Like how it would break my heart if someday the Nether Prince would pop out and the being that would come out wouldn’t be her. Or like how Helen spent her entire existence fighting tooth and nail for her own seat at the table, and so often I didn’t even acknowledge the effort she had to pour out to keep up with me when almost everyone else was left behind. How she would have supported this for the Nether people with her whole heart. After grumbling about it for a bit.”

“I’ll wait for the signal.” The Nether King winced slightly; the Ghosthound’s words had aggravated the Nether in the surroundings, whipping wind and significance with enough heft it could strip skin and rip through patterns like a sandstorm.

When he walked down into the ravine, he did it quickly, even as the Ghosthound’s whole non-existence flowed away through those connected patterns.

*****

Helen spent almost a minute, just shredding her way out of the Nether bindings around her body. When they were completely destroyed, she stomped around a bit, blowing off her excess fury. Her image swelled and crackled with her anger. She left small scratches on the ground as she lashed out.

More than anything else, right now, she wanted to matter.

She hated how easily the Nether King had overpowered her, how he had taken her blood and used it for some nefarious purpose. She hated how the plot was related to Randidly Ghosthound; how she became just the easiest way to access him. She was naught to these monsters but an exploitable weakness.

She hated now how she needed to sit here, even in this valuable area, on the site of her defeat.

Malice hissed, but it was a sound of discomfort more than overwhelming fury. This place provided incredible resonance to her image, allowing Devick to rapidly improve herself. Yet the area wasn’t without drawbacks. This awareness, this guilt and self-loathing about how she might be perceived, began to chip away at the capability she had built into the crimson Hare. Devick took several deep breaths, trying to steady her mind.

But she started to spiral, remembering all the times she had failed him-

Devick spun around, her attention tugged out of its negative whirl by a humming noise from nearby. Her eyes locked onto the second statue, the one of the woman. Devick put her left hand in front of her, taking solace in the chilling ache radiation out from the hand, up her arm. She licked her lips. “Humph, did you think from witnessing that scenario that I’m some sort of easy target? Let me assure you, tangling with me is as sweet and simple as an acid bath.”

Her words echoed through the created Pinnacle chamber, widening and warping with all the space around her. But at the very least, her firm stance helped solidify Malice’s body. The gurgling toxicity grounded her; with a foe, she could focus.

…all of that focus was lost when, after a second humming noise, the culprit revealed itself. A medium-sized gecko, probably two hand-spans long, crawled up onto the woman’s shoulder and regarded her with wide and bulging eyes.

“Ahem.” Devick cleared her throat. The Nether King had mentioned a treasure related to the original founding of the Nexus, but was this stupid creature it…? “Just to be clear, you are a hyper-intelligent, sinister being prepared to ravage me and suck the marrow from my bones, yes?”

The gecko blinked at her.

“Please? Maybe monologue on your plot to cover the world in scales and shades of green?”

It blinked again.

Devick tried another tack. She cleared her throat and put her hand on her hip. “Perhaps seeing my flawless physical form has left you boiling over with lust? You’ve got quite the thing for redheads?”

Rather than answer, the gecko shivered. Its body began to glow vaguely. It wiggled its shoulders as the light brightened and Devick settled back into a battle crouch. Honestly, this didn’t actually seem lust-related, but she would take it. The fingers of her left hand curled into claws. She felt the mantle of god slayer settling across her. The light became blinding.

Yet when it faded, it was Devick’s turn to blink. “You are a lizard, not a snake.”

Where the gecko had been on the woman’s shoulder, there now sat a perfectly preserved husk of skin. The creature had shed its skin and left it there, a glittering, perfect shape. And now that it sat on the ground- Devick’s jaw dropped, this time- the small creature now sat with a different form. A crimson-furred bunny tilted its head as it examined her, one ear flopping down on its head.

“Seriously, what the fuck.” Devick whispered. Just to be sure, she swiped at the bunny with her left hand. She unleashed her image, but almost half-heartedly, considering its rather charming new body. The body hopped to the side, just avoiding the attack. Rather than seeming threatened by it, however, the bunny just seemed curious. It hopped closer and regarded her very seriously.

Devick threw her hands up in the air. “Not even strong enough to kill a lizard rabbit. One that lives in this Pinnacle place, sure, but… dammit. Well, come here.”

She stepped forward and pounced on the bunny, expecting it to dodge. But it did not. Even as Devick’s left hand tightened around its furry and warm body, it just looked at her. She lifted it up and frowned at it. Then she pulled it into her arms and stroked its fur, each second with a little bit more enthusiasm.

Honestly, its fur was addictively soft.

“So now what?” Devick asked the air. The remnants of her disappointment and bitterness formed discarded debris in the corner of her heart, but the worst of it was soothed away. Yet still, she was alone here, not quite properly motivated to throw herself into training. At least she now had a stress-pet.

Yet obviously, this was the point at which the rabbit opened its mouth. “Should I take you to the Pinnacle?”