The soft light in front of them parted revealing a long line of bodies opposite the image projections Randidly felt his neck shifting into a thick trunk with several leafy protrusions as he turned to look down the line of consciousnesses waiting to choose Most Randidly didnÆt recognize based on their image body But he realized they were already in line because the person three to his left pulsed and release a voice it had been the central figure of the rebels Her melodic voice was extremely memorable
I choose my own body
The Don cheerily accepted and suddenly the woman stood where her image projection had been wearing her worn leather armor and looking around warily She flexed her hands checking her own condition
As it proceeded down the line Randidly announced his intent to use his own body just like every other person In the first half of the group there were two of the rebels Kyl MacDuul Randidly the Engraving Guild representative and Moonlight Blade As each asked for their own body Randidly identified Claudette obviously but also Yust and Neshamah further down in the queue
The idle call and response from Don gave Randidly more time to examine the surroundings He tried sensing the emotions and the ripples and viewing the intermittent shapes from that perspective but he could glean nothing The source of the wrongness eluded him
He spun slowly in place trying to see if he could find out the source was As he did so something caught his eye that made his expression go blank Another version of him stumbled down the slope clearly having trouble controlling the physical power of RandidlyÆs body That version of him lost his balance stepped but ended up just stomping hard enough to crack the ground and force in his bare foot
One foot transfixed that individual flopped forward onto his stomach and cursed
RandidlyÆs lips twitched Well I donÆt want to jump to conclusions but it really seems like that Randidly isnÆt Devick If I had to guess Yust Yea that curse has the right amount of bluster for the tiger man
Randidly hopped down a little deeper in the canyon intending to head over to speak to this struggling and inept version of himself But he stiffened as there were suddenly two additional RandidlyÆs on each side of him moving carefully down the slope into the lowest area clearly making a beeline for the struggling him
Shutting his mouth Randidly planted his foot and streaked through the intervening space and arrived at the fallen Randidly Compared to the other two this one was more trustworthy if just for the abject lack of threat he represented The fallen fellow in his body squawked and wheeled around cracking the ground further with his flailing arms Randidly easily grabbed him underneath the armpits and lifted him out and onto his feet
Even if we both have the same body being able to keep up with the information it feeds you will take some work Randidly said lightly as he looked at a very wide eyed version of himself Then he raised a finger to his lips and used his other arm to point But we donÆt have time to have you slowly find your feet we have company
Wait The Randidly at the base of the canyon bounded forward clearly underestimating his strength and then scrambling to catch himself in a patch of tiny bushes That Randidly straightened and patted himself down with his hands when he regained control of his momentum We are working together IÆm Claudette
And IÆm Neshamah The final Randidly sidled down out of the hills Compared to the others this one garnered the most suspicion with his movements Although this Randidly moved slowly he was definitely more sure of his footing than either of the other two
Randidly looked back and forth looking at the energy ripples they released His frown brought the lingering headache back to the forefront of his mind All three of these individuals seemed relatively calm as well as he attempted to taste their emotional state Is this a coincidence that we are all here Or did the Don arrange that the groups would be dropped near to each other Claudette is also probably who she claims to be but could the final me just be Devick pretending She might not know how to be me but sheÆs definitely monstrously clever
The Randidly who claimed to be Claudette cleared her throat I know it will be difficult to get rid of all suspicion but I think if we spend some time talking
The impact wasnÆt close to them but the force shook the ridges and sent pebbles skittering down the slope in a wild scramble Randidly crouched while even the third suspicious Randidly windmilled his arms and attempted to keep his balance The Yust Randidly directly flopped onto his back trying to maintain his standing position and slamming the back of his head into the ground
On the heels of the impact a voice boomed out over the mountain Bahahaha It is I Randidly Ghosthound Elhume can go fuck himself The Nexus is shit and everyone is just the stinky assholes How dares challenge me to single combat LetÆs have some fun Hehe
His three teammates within his body shared awkward smiles Randidly reached up and rubbed the bridge of his nose Well at least that takes care of that problem
Chapter 1861
The rumbles continued in the distance as the very vocal and domineering Randidly GhosthoundÆ stomped across the desert apparently more interesting in testing out the limits of his body than seeking the prize Ridges collapsed and new canyons were carved all while Devick unleashed a constant slew of hate for the Nexus and every person of power within the Nexus aside from herself Upstodatee from eanwhile Yust was now hopping excitedly from side to side then throwing out jabs so quick the air hummed with their passage His enthusiasm was palpable How is your body so strong
More than that how are your veins so robust Neshamah was staring down at RandidlyÆs hand which glimmered with the pale flames of her Nether Weight Apparently she had access to her own Nether Core despite being in his body Do you circulate Nether through your body almost constantly The Engraving Guild definitely does not have a method to acquire this sort of perfect body for Nether ItÆs breathtaking
Jeez Neshamah keep it in your pants Claudette teased even while poking prodding and pinching every portion of RandidlyÆs body that she could reach She squeezed and groped his tail Then she raised her foot off the ground and wiggled her toes at Neshamah You can stop going on about his perfect body ItÆs giving me the creeps
Neshamah frowned using RandidlyÆs face He watched the thin lines form between his brows and felt oddly tingly to watch himself She spoke seriously ignoring the jibe It is hard to comprehend for those who do not use Nether but there is always at least a little bit of rejection between Aether and Nether But even though this is not my body the rejection is less than it normally is
Devick leveled another mountain cackling the entire time and calling for the capitulation of all Overseers to the dominion of Randidly Ghosthound There was some loud cursing apparently this time she had discovered another one of the competitors in the wide swath of devastation she created A powerful image flared to life A strange amorphous thing with many legs and a horrible stickiness that made even the air in the desert briefly damp
ThatÆs TyuneÆs image Claudette observed quietly finally ceasing her exploration of RandidlyÆs body If they defeat each other it would make our job much easier
I actually have a question Randidly said looking around at the three of them He ignored the powerful clashes and DevickÆs (and also his) mad laughter that filled the air Things moved pretty fast to get us in here so I didnÆt have the chance to ask do we know the object we are looking for The reward to end this
The other three exchanged glances Then Claudette shook her head Father didnÆt mention the details of the item we are looking for but considering his pride it will not be difficult to identify the right object Just searching for the most ostentatious and large will likely get us halfway But in addition it wonÆt just be laying out in the sand underneath a cactus Considering the fact that this is a desert I would suspect our first goal should be finding an oasis