A groan escaped RandidlyÆs lips as he began to fold his perspective in the Nether manner peering deeply into the pearl to open and close it in unorthodox ways The small became large the large small the inside out and the secret unfolded to become blatant Just looking at it Randidly could see how powerful this Philosopher’s Stone would be when completed how much humanity would benefit how much everyone in his Alpha Cosmos would benefit
Even through the haze of pain and weariness he stilled at that awareness Because this object could be a gift for all the people who had followed him A legacy
Because Randidly knew that even if he managed to reach the end of his story to wrest control of the Nexus from Elhume and establish the Alpha Cosmos that wouldnÆt be the end of all stories His talks with Solomon Rex had made it clear that the Nexus would inevitably crash back into the main universe And these brushes with the Cult of the Savior even just within the memory taught him that dangerous foes would be waiting outside
Randidly might still be around at that time but he also might not This PhilosopherÆs Stone would let others pick up the torch
He had always felt vast gratitude to the people who supported him and his efforts to thank them always felt insufficient Yet as Randidly imagine the PhilosopherÆs Stone that was only a few shapes away from coming into being he saw a way to provide for them To repay all the trust placed in him
A change occurred in RandidlyÆs heart one that he wasnÆt sure heÆd been able to manage one he knew he would need for todayÆs efforts to be worth it but that he wasnÆt able to force For the first time Randidly felt the whole of his being shifting its focus he wanted this weapon for his people so badly he almost didnÆt care what he needed to do to accomplish it
The looming certainty of failure in his attempts drifted away from his mind He said a silent prayer of apology for the humanity within the memory Because he sure as hell would be willing to sacrifice them in order to arm his people with this
The folding perspective began to occur faster and faster Randidly twisted and wrenched found first three openings for shapes then four more He folded and folded seeking out those last spaces After an exhaustive amount of shifting and twisting he managed to find the space for two more
Randidly pulled back and looked at the pearl His neck tingled unpleasantly as though he had slept on it wrong for about a hundred years The pearl appeared to be almost constantly shivering as though it was cold The movement wasnÆt physical but a weird amount of superpositions manifesting and non manifesting so that it was sometimes larger sometimes smaller but always appearing in motion
Hurry Neveah whispered
Yet a chill ran up RandidlyÆs spine Because suddenly with an awful sort of instinctual certainty he understood what was happening His pupils dilated as he flicked through his various energy visions looking for the particular thread of what he sought
Randidly had created an item of total wholeness There was no absence no emptiness to any of it The combination of the Breath of the Ghosthound and his perspective folding had seen to that The pearl existed more real than anything else He had expected that to be the difficult part but that had been remarkably easy
because without that mundane absence within its substance as the ineffable force of time attempted to flow past it instead slammed against the pearl It had no natural channels through which to pass As soon as he suspected it he could see it suddenly grasping the basic flows of time around him due to the deviation caused by the pearl
Randidly felt the watchful presence of the imperative no longer as vindictive but tired tired just as he was Do you see Æ the imperative whispered I never was stopping you There are no antagonists in this little story of yours It is simply impossible Æ
One of the phrases used by Deganawidah had caught in RandidlyÆs brain and floated to the surface now Shape nor momentÆ Because those were the two absolutes a shape like the one Randidly had created now which couldnÆt survive the passage of time Or a pure moment the Pinnacle where the shape deteriorated and faded in the aftermath
Just before the next wave of time came slamming into the absolute Pearl he had created Randidly gritted his teeth The First Authority Seize
Randidly grabbed time and stilled it just in the area around the Pearl
In that manner he stood frozen the meager significance he had recovered rapidly draining out of his Nether Core Another subtle pulse of time flowed past and then another arrived and essentially emptied out all of his energy The force of time came inexorably lapping against his resistance wearing down RandidlyÆs resources He wracked his brain trying to understand what he could do He even opened up his Status Screen and looked through all his Skills hoping he had forgotten some solution
He clenched his jaw harder as though that would help Neveah fed him elaborate Engraving schemes that he dutifully carved into the broken ground around the pearl It would sustain it at least for a time when he could no longer hold back the waves of time
Weirdly Randidly felt his mind drifting as his fingers moved Back to those days when he had laid alone on his bed feeling powerless That sense of mute frustration of wanting to shout and cry and knowing you would receive nothing for your pain was a feeling he hated
Because that was the one joy of the System wasnÆt it That he would never have zero options to move forward That so long as he worked hard
Randidly released a sob his chest burning As it turned out that brief certainty about the long reaching implications of this objectÆs creation turned poisonous
When his Nether Core finally gave out and the Engravings flared to defiant life Randidly kneeled on the ground his posture slouched Yggdrasil pulled the last dregs of energy out of the Cult of the SaviorÆs defensive array When that proved to be insufficient to pump life back through Randidly it reached out further pulling energy out of the sky and into his body His Nether Core huffed wearily as it accelerated back up to speed
Congratulations Your Skill Infinite Incendiary Filaments of the Dove Moirae has grown to Level 1150
He flexed his fingers Some aspect of existence finally came into focus where time flowed with a pulsing inversion of light a line in his vision that glittered like a mirror angled to reflect the setting sun He watched it wash against NeveahÆs brilliant designs and rub them away bit by bit
Struck by a strange insight Randidly raised his gaze and looked up directly at Pine despite the danger He could feel through the confines of the memory the monstrous hole of the current Pine stirring as it scented a new source of sustenance to suck dry Yet he ignored that risk for a moment just to follow the pulse of time across PineÆs body
ThatÆs the genius of the Nexus of the whole System Randidly thought somewhere between incredulity and awe We are a suspended bubble created as time rubs away the perfect life that is Pine a genuine Shallah
He tore his gaze away his insights could wait His eyes were bloodshot as they locked back on the pearl ignoring the small cracks that had begun to form along its edges Now came the part Randidly did best struggling
Chapter 2286
Neveah manifested directly beside Randidly just as he squared his shoulders against the ineffable flow of time Partially because she wanted to support him partially because she wanted to protect him from any more outside interference but also because she had a hard time following his struggle
To her extreme annoyance a combination of RandidlyÆs deranged state and his deep intuition toward Nether allowed him to grasp the passage of time She could see his shoulders tense right before the impacts would come causing the furious humming of the pearl to still for just a moment a hair away from completely shattering
Despite her access to his senses she could only feel the strange energy obliquely With all the very flashy natural advantages Randidly had acquired for himself it was easy to miss the first and most important of his strengths