That was how horrifying an attack Devick unleashed
Randidly twisted and focused on Neshamah His face twisted into a frown At the same time this isnÆt how I want this to end Neshamah was the donation of energy just a distraction so I didnÆt pay attention to you You are quite decisive Now I donÆt feel so bad about taking all that significance for myself
But I do have one last card
Randidly ignored the chaos of his own self and flooded a preprepared Engraving pattern with Aether Just in case he had used the periphery of his storm to lay down the foundation to reactivate Don BeigonÆs defensive fortifications for the tower He hadnÆt planned on using it to stop Neshamah but
Aether flooded out of him and the Engraving activated But Randidly quickly went pale the Engravings he now reactivated had been designed as barriers Sure he could now keep out those who tried to pass before the five minutes were up but since Neshamah was already so close to the coin he felt helpless He had no choice but to watch her stretch out her arm
The unborn began to shriek as the chain twisted and tightened threatening to pop them like unwanted zits as it carved a path toward RandidlyÆs heart
Then from the depths of this duplicated body knowledge appeared in RandidlyÆs desperate mind He knew the secrets of all the DonÆs Engravings in the Skull of Truth he understood them with just as much acuity as though he had designed them himself By instinct he adjusted the Engraving patterns on the fly to reject all failures within their confines
Finally Randidly neared his mental limit But he refused to fail now
Congratulations Your Skill Architecture of the Primordial Ways has grown to Level 646
Neshamah squawked as she was thrown off of the dais Don BeigonÆs laughed boomed out Silly competitor DidnÆt you hear the rules It requires five minutes before you can take this treasure
Claudette blurred forward and Randidly adjusted the barrier again his mind rapidly heating Due to the strain his vision began to blur Moonlight Blade exploded sending a spray of ice bits in every direction In his chest he could feel that the Unborn were about to be unborn quite literally by DevickÆs spiteful madness Claudette passed through the barrier
IÆll make an attempt on the Pinnacle Perhaps the first true attempt in a long time The Don answered in a quiet voice His timber had enough solemnity that even RandidlyÆs nausea was briefly quelled An attempt in which I believe I have a genuine chance of succeeding After others witness the beginning of my ascension I have no doubt that they will seek to use you to strike at me It is unavoidable that is the way of the Nexus
You intend to ignore ElhumeÆs prohibition on the Pinnacle Claudette frowned
Don Beigon snorted Have you heard from Elhume recently The state of the Nexus is not as simple as you know Devick is restoring some order using the worst sort of methods but if you ask the right people none have seen Elhume in quite some time For the next several months he will be indisposed as he crafts a tool he dearly needs
That earned RandidlyÆs attention He straightened and wiped a bit of vomit from his mouth How will your attempt to reach the Pinnacle be different then And where did Elhume go
When Don Beigon now fixed Randidly with a glare the emotional force in his blazing eyes sent the feeble Randidly staggering back You You believe you have the right to ask questions after I gave you time to recover in spite of you dooming my daughter Heh if I didnÆt think that Devick or Wick will soon handle you IÆd rip out your eyes and string them on a necklace Then IÆd give that necklace to Claudette so youÆd be forced to see first hand what they will
Father Claudette stepped up and put her hand on RandidlyÆs shoulder Her fingers were cool giving Randidly a measure of relief Of course that relief quickly became nausea again and he stepped to the side and noisily voided the lingering acidic bile of his stomach This time at least the coloration seemed more normal Plus there was less blood in the vomit
Claudette spared Randidly a glance but then looked at the Don His first question is a good one
Shaking his head the Don turned back to his daughter The Path to the Pinnacle can be considered the shortcut used originally by Elhume when he relied on the Nexus to reach the Pinnacle It supplies one of the three necessary elements of the true Pinnacle a foundation However there are other methods to creating such a foundation
Since you seem curious Again the Don shot a sneering glance in RandidlyÆs direction IÆll give a bit more explanation A foundation an image and a perfect moment These are the three things that you need Most of the recent attempts rely on the foundation of the Path to the Pinnacle and skimp on the other two But IÆve made my preparations for a long long time As I said previously the Beigons do not forget their debts
A perfect moment Claudette tilted her head to the side
Don Beigon wheeled himself around Then he spoke to his daughter without turning to face her A shadow fell across the back of his wheelchair We may be allies but that does not mean I am willing to share all the information I possess with you There are some things that you need to discover on your own Especially now that you have refused my assistance
Your assistance was life as a kept bride for one of a half dozen monsters ClaudetteÆs voice hummed with the echoes of Clarent Did you truly think that was for the best If you were me would you have accepted such an arrangement
RandidlyÆs mind continued to consider the phrase perfect momentÆ How strange It isnÆt anything IÆve heard before but a perfect moment that seems a lot more like a Nether element than an Aether one Does that mean you need a Nether Core to reach the Pinnacle
I would not have accepted Don replied And it was exactly that sort of foolhardy decision that resulted in DianeÆs death I would not have been able to live with making that same choice again
Then he rolled away casting a long string of words over his shoulder As one last favor both of you may remain here for as long as you like Speak to the staff when you wish to return to the Nexus Because I suspect this will be the last chance for both of you have especially you Mr Ghosthound for a moment of peace I hate it but you have taken a half step into the realm of the players of power in the Nexus Good luck
Chapter 1875
The first thing that Randidly did in the wake of DonÆs departure was check in on Claudette she shrugged off his soft questions and favored him with a joking glare She put her fists on her hips and looked him up and down Take care of yourself first Ghosthound You realize you look like a plague bearer right I could catch something from you like this
Randidly looked down at his vomit spattered front and dirty bare feet In addition most of his shirt had been ripped away in the fighting Which only served to emphasize the massive enflamed rash across his chest where DevickÆs attack had briefly penetrated his body Truly he didnÆt look very healthy
His stomach bubbled uncomfortably reminding him that he didnÆt feel very healthy either
So he moved a little down the beach giving Claudette some space and himself some privacy Then he waded out into the sea the water feeling surprisingly warm on his skin as he rubbed away the lingering sick that had dried on him At the same time he sent a message to the Patron of the Sun asking about the visions he had seen within the barrier erected by Elhume He described the three individuals and the three scenes the pool the great hall and the staircase
Even now those strong figures and the words they spoke to each other haunted him
Then Randidly returned to the sand beach and collapsed for one of his naps As he drifted off to sleep he felt somewhat bitter in his heart He unleashed a massive sigh and rolled onto his side IÆm really not a big fan of naps ItÆs just this First Authority leaves me so