That star cackled and swelled refusing to be ignored The radiation it released influenced the future It nudged it toward a different path
With the assistance of the Upper Sonara Society Randidly Ghosthound arranged for his own rapid ascent to prominence in the Nexus The young upstart might not have much going for him yet apparently enough had accumulated that the universe reacted to his presence and intentions In the coming clash between the rebel and Elhume the result was no longer as clear cut as the Don would like
Because the Don had been aware of Randidly Ghosthounds movements he had made some preparations But his hands had been mostly tied due to the debt between them Even now the fact that the Don owed the Ghosthound rankled It was an itch his image urged him to scratch every day Yet he withheld himself He waited
He endured his torture as he had so many other things The future oozed closer Probably some weaker individuals had already been entirely submerged They were at the mercy of fate The outcomes of their lives were no longer under their control
Pathetic
The Don pivoted away from the window rolling to the next room Incense lay heavy on the air He had lined the walls with candles with a wave of the hand they snapped to light On the floor he had drawn an elaborate diagram in chalk lines He understood the base Engraving System of the Nexus but this had been writ in his own private language of scales balance and inevitability Creating general Engravings had very decreased effectiveness but in the area of debts none could rival the heights he could reach
Soon high enough to brush the Pinnacle The Dons eyes flashed
I miss you Every day I miss you The Don said as he had done every dawn since his wife had died His heart stirred at her memory but just barely For that he hated himself In the beginning his emotions had been a tumultuous storm barely able to be contained within his body Now it felt more like rubbing a thumb along an amputated elbow receiving only a tingle for the bodys downtrodden recognition of what was missing
Still it was around this feeling he had built his whole life It was for that reason he strengthened himself sharpened his image forced his body into motion That and his daughter of course But he had done all he could for Claudette she had chosen to refuse his protection for the coming war
Diane This was your invention And I always cautioned you against using it It weakens the fabric of our image just by existing You you always laughed at me Told me that exceptions prove the rule The Don mumbled Around him the lines of his Engraving began to glow One last time I will trust you Even if your recklessness is likely what brought down Elhumes wrath you didnt place me in any danger did you And you never would have You were too smart for that
So lets prepare a Reversal of Fortunes The Don raised his head and glared at the distant star Randidly Ghosthound have you ever suffered like I have suffered
Pillars of color churned around Randidlys body as he channeled his Skill A Worlds Regrets Beget Serrated Insurrection In total he conjured five different pillars A piercing azure blue that made his heart ache A vivid emerald that matched his eyes A searing pink orange practically sparking at the edges A deep maroon that felt a bit too close to madness Finally a grey lavender an almost dead color that made his shoulders slump just from looking
DiOrthos hatchets sat in front of him on a spot of ground already charred and smoking from the previous weapons he had enhanced
Meanwhile activating A Worlds Regrets Begets Serrated Insurrection unveiled these emotions Randidly bared himself to the world He felt vulnerable
To his surprise he flinched back during the first try for his Knight Which caused a split second of hesitation and then he hammered back with all the emotional force that he could muster Especially drawing from the emerald and maroon pillars Randidly created a ghost of primal impulses and unexplored wilderness
Which actually fit quite well with Charlottes Primal Force But from a purely execution perspective it was an ugly working Made all the more frustrating when Charlotte had thanked Randidly profusely as she beamed and waved her new toy around
Next came Raymund Ballast For him Randidly began with azure with notes of pink and grey lavender The horrible vulnerable ripping emotional ghost Randidly crafted was one of consideration and sudden action A sort of vigilante a self righteous individual that burned with stubbornness
Third Randidly had made a weapon for Alana Donal He placed his hands upon her spear already beginning to feel his body made feeble by the constant production of emotions feeding almost entirely pink orange into her ghost with some ancillary notes from the emerald pillar What came out was an emotion close to awe an emotion resembling satisfaction a pure grasping feeling of a journey about to start
And now above these hatchets Randidlys eyes opened again He pulled from the grey lavender pillar with equal parts also from azure and pink orange Randidly watched the ghost as its personality developed right before his eyes
He channeled all his current woes all his worries about the later consequences of his current actions into this ghost Because an ancient machine god would leave a long wake in its path Thats what Randidly grasped The sense of times passage the flow of years the accumulation of small choices that became the pressures of history steering toward a certain end The casual movement or bricks that eventually constructed a Ghasthund
Randidly released a breath as he finished feeding the violent emotions into the ghost Relief swept through him as he allowed those orbiting pillars to fade Unlike the others it paused before it sank into Vants weapons It pivoted and looked at Randidly with pure black eyes
Then it vanished all at once and air began to churn above the hatchets
Another tremor racked Randidlys body but Neveah appeared next to him to steady him Are you going to be alright
Probably Randidly snorted His internal organs felt slightly fried from containing all those emotions He wondered how effective they would be in adding some extra power to his subordinates weapons He wondered what his subordinates would think feeling the emotions he had poured into them He shook his head to dislodge those thoughts Any updates
The Vulpis Squad is ready to move There was a bit of squabbling in the Upper Sonara Society but they have split off a chunk that will proceed with us when we approach the mountain of crystalized Aether Neveah reported
And Lyra Randidly pressed a hand to his chest
Neveah grimaced shes been getting pale for the past ten minutes Still seems able to suppress the feeling with the addition of the barrier but
Looks like the Actus Suprem is even more monstrous than we thought Randidly sighed Alright I have one last thing and then we head to face Elhume
You also need to rest Neveah squeezed his shoulder I had no idea that Skill would hollow you out like that
Randidly raised his head and met her eyes There have been so many times youve been right about needing to rest But this time I cant Neveah We dont have any margin for error any longer
In the end Neveah looked away first Randidly turned his attention inward and found the grey bubbles and the drops of liquid Aether He began to build his personal trump card truly weaving the two energies together
Chapter 2364
Randidly hummed to himself and considered Energies continued to gather around their base of operations as the Upper Sonara Society continued their efforts With energy came choices Right now what was most important was efficiency
Once the fighting began Randidly would fight until he won or died Obviously considering the mood of his subordinates he kept these thoughts to himself But it was upon those axes that his decisions were made
Randidly had been delighted to discover that the conversation with Solomon Rex and perhaps even his work to create superior weapons for his subordinates had boosted him in the density of his significance Two complete grey bubbles had formed in the depths of his Nether Core Which put his total to 15 to 13 drops of liquid Aether