Ten thousand times It was no wonder that fucker shook Randidly to his core and ripped apart his Class by glancing at him
It took several minutes for Randidly to control the surging sea of emotions In this regard his Crown was extremely useful As it manifested above him it cowed the surrounding energy Although partly the aura of timelessness he had infused into his Yggdrasil image likely marked him as a friendly entity to the uncontrolled Aether Immediately the pressure on him from the liquid Aether lessened as it seemed to recognize a kindred spirit
Once Randidly had control of himself he examined the crystal box more carefully There were runic markings around it but the function of the box was immediately clear RandidlyÆs face twisted into a smile So I was right about this being a tomb
The body was obscured by the cracked and pitted crystal but there was clearly someone lying within The only problem was the carved message in front of the coffin As with the arrows there were dozens of engravings around it designed to make sure that the Engraving would not fade easily with the passage of time
Break
RandidlyÆs eyes narrowed The maker of this place had brought Randidly here to open up the coffin That seemed like a gamble Even setting aside the dangerous liquid Aether that was greedily devouring RandidlyÆs skin even at the moment the rather quiet image of timelessness that Randidly was used to had grown to a mammoth of determination It was the potent image that was ultimately more difficult to deal with than the Aether
After all Aether needed a master to be put to use This image persisted without someone guiding it for quite a long time It might even be that the maker of this arrangement had been one that Tellus referred to as a Master so the body within the coffin might be the sleeping image
The size of this crystal box and that continent of crystal were incomparable But they both signaled that the two associated individuals were at a higher tier of existence than Randidly They were beings with true power Did that mean it was too dangerous to risk following the instructions on the Engraving
The other option was just to steal the remaining liquid Aether and leave without attempting to break the coffin But not only was Randidly unsure of how to store the liquid Aether Randidly also believed that the liquid Aether lake was just a byproduct of the coffin slowly decomposing
Which made Randidly wonder how impressive this place had originally been Perhaps there was once a whole temple made of solidified Aether on the plateau Until it began to fracture and flood the surrounding area
Idly Randidly commanded the root that was waiting outside of the lake of Aether to shoot toward him Almost immediately the root began to disintegrate as it bravely dived downward But Randidly forced more and more Mana into the root in order to delay the inevitable decomposition By the time it reached him it was nothing more than a gnarled and dehydrated branch With a deft movement Randidly snatched the glove that was hanging off the end
It was clear then that this was meant to be the key This chisel was the way to break the coffin
The maker of this place had never hidden their intentions to lead individuals here The only true question was why go to so much trouble And that question had bothered Randidly so much in the past that he had rather casually allowed the deaths of Ki Kunot and her people
But something shifted now that Randidly knew definitively that the creator of the timelessness image was also the maker of these signs Randidly had spent so much time seeking the truth of the image of timelessness that it was difficult for him to not associate that image with himself
More than that the timelessness of this image that Randidly had thoroughly injected into the World Tree was very different than the begrudging resistance to change that the Grim Chimera possessed That was an energy fueled by unwillingness and spite It thrived on negative emotions Yet this timelessness was just endurance A will that had stretched beyond exhaustion to simply persist as a force of nature
There was no malice there only determination It was a Willpower usage that was based on acceptance
While Randidly awkwardly wiggled his fingers so the left handed glove was on his right hand he turned and bowed slightly to the West IÆm so sorry Nine thousand one hundred and six I wonÆt forget But IÆll learn from this
Then Randidly turned and struck the crystal coffin
Chapter 999
Doonngg
The effect was immediate the entire hole began to shake around Randidly with violent aggression Engravings that Randidly hadnÆt even recognized as existing began to glow brightly snaking outward Randidly hissed in displeasure as he scanned them No wonder the Aether was difficult to detect from far away these Engravings were designed to siphon off the Aether to fuel other workings likely the Engravings that maintained the arrows
The shaking continued to intensify Cracks seemed to simply fade into existence along the lines of the crystal coffin Then the pieces began to buckle and shatter along its surface Within the coffin something shivered
Randidly stored away the glove and spread his arms The Indomitable Mien of Yggdrasil exploded out from him pushing away the overwhelming image of timelessness that shined out of the broken coffin Even with it spewing its own indomitable image Randidly was slowly losing ground to that light
Gritting his teeth RandidlyÆs mouth spread into a manic grin You fucking want to compete with me you dead thing ThereÆs more than one way to learn about another image One way is to simply devour So if you
But just as RandidlyÆs focus and tension were spiraling upward to the pinnacle the light of the supernova like image flickered off The shaking shuddered to a halt In the silence Randidly stood frozen with his arms spread dramatically wide
A dark hand reached up and pressed aside the broken shards of the coffin Then the previously trapped individual sat up
An ancient red haired monkey with milky white eyes looked slowly around Finally his gaze settled on Randidly He seemed to sigh and offered Randidly a small smile You are not one of my people are you It seems my suspicions were correct but IÆve slept for far far too long
Randidly remained silent
Without waiting for an answer the monkey leveraged himself up from the coffin His legs were skinny and frail with the hair so thin that Randidly could see the milky skin of its legs But what drew RandidlyÆs eyes was the monkeyÆs side
A wriggling black darkness sat there slowly consuming small chunks of the monkeyÆs flesh and devouring them The image of timelessness seemed to be concentrated in that area to resist the darkness but it was a losing battle Seeing his gaze the monkey chuckled Heh I see you are familiar with this then Good that will make my explanation easier But before I begin I have a question for you youngster No need to be scared I mean you no harm Just tell me where are we
Randidly considered the question The figure in front of him was made of such dense Aether that Randidly couldnÆt even begin to parse it apart in a short amount of time Even injured he was far beyond RandidlyÆs capability The monkey was correct about one thing though Randidly felt a slight sense of recognition when he looked at the monkeyÆs side He was being devoured by Nether as had come from his Touch from Beyond Skill
But what Randidly couldnÆt figure out was why the first question the monkey had was where they were Was the reassurance the monkey offered genuine
Some part of Randidly was furious that he had so thoughtlessly cracked open the coffin But there was another part of him that believed in that image and trusted this strange individual who appeared to have been sealed long ago
As the silence between them stretched Randidly cleared his throat We are in a lake of Aether on a plateau
No no The monkey feebly waved a hand Then he winced and brought his hand to his side Perhaps itÆs better to ask how you got here youngster This is not your homeworld correct
RandidlyÆs mouth twisted You are correct I came here through the System This place is a Dungeon