For a brief moment he opened up his energy halo vision He quickly winced and deactivated the capability The depths of the energy field were filled with pain and anguish Those who fell for the temptation of the placid energy now suffered for all eternity
In a way perhaps this was the first Ghasthund in the Nexus
Congratulations Your Skill Heraldic Tongue of the Alchemist has grown to Level 1619
Congratulations Your Skill Heraldic Tongue of the Alchemist has grown to Level 1632
Pullas started muttering to herself and Randidy quickened his pace disturbed by the Skill Level increases The placid lake seemed to cease its attempts at temptation as he walked toward the central point like a toddler behaving well sd an unfamiliar adult walked through his home Randidlys suspicions about the culprit were confirmed as the saw the smiling and unapologetic form of Solomon Rex standing with his hands behind his back next to a strange runic machine and below the one shadow in the lake
Most of all Randidly felt power in that body A different sort of power from the dense cluster of crystallized Aether Even taking into account the heavy veil of turbid Nether that bubbled in the frozen limbs Randidly couldnt explain from whence the sensation originated An inexplicable quality was present in Elhume Once he had looked it was difficult to look away Attention turned sticky around the body
So that is the Pinnacle Randidly said slowly opening his energy halo vision and trying to conceptualize what he saw
Just the shallow reflection from basking in its light but yes That is what it means to be a vessel Solomon Rex agreed To contain something greater than the base energies with which we toy
Randidlys lips twisted in distaste He definitely did not wish to acknowledge even the smallest benefit from this visit Instead he pivoted to look at the runic machine sitting below Elhumes body Even now Mana circulated through its connections as it continued its process What about this Do you have another project planned
Oh that predates me One of Fieros subordinates an inventor of great accomplishment although this individual has managed to remain relatively unknown in the Nexus Solomon grimaced as though anonymity left a bad taste in his mouth This particular machine is busy recondensing one of Fieros other great minions Lathic NGick One more lever with which to control the accumulation of Nether once I established myself at the bottom of the Nexus
Randidly thought about Xershi and sighed He wondered where his former Ascension Pact member had gone Yet his anger at being brought here hadnt completely abated If this is all Im moving forward I dont suppose
The exit in that direction Go quickly Randidly Ghosthound We cannot tarry too long Solomon nodded even while staring up at his former body with the most bare and heated flame of jealousy Randidly had ever seen He offered no further words apparently now finished with the brief and pointless conversation
Randidlys chest seethed at the reactivated emotions after all this shit this bastard had the nerve to tell him to hurry He gestured sharply with his chin and Alana barked out the order The group formed up and charged toward the indicated exit Meanwhile Randidly brushed up against Neveahs consciousness Are you thinking what Im thinking
He antagonized you on purpose both when you arrived and when you departed Neveah confirmed A small trill of amusement escaped her And it worked like a charm
Fuck 13% Randidly shook his head not letting the emotion distract him Just fuck Anyway we are missing something Something important Why were we brought here Was it the crystal energy The way Aether turned into a lake like that The strange power of the body The machine to condense NGick Or even some step in a grander metaphor
A stronger bubble of amusement floated from Neveah Not everyone possesses your gift for flipping your perspective Randidly They are not Alchemists
But now that Ive shown them how I need to be on the lookout for copycats Especially with Solomon who has been laying at the bottom of this horrid place staring up and plotting his method to claw his way back to the top They reached the exit to the flat lake and Randidly had to admit he was glad to be away from those energies The Aether pressed more aggressively against him here and he was glad for the small defensive manifestation of his image to distract him
After a pause Neveah sent another message I did have a single thought looking at Elhumes body I recognize the power he possesses Ive seen it quite often
Who Randidly frowned scanning his own memory
You Randidly Ghosthound Youve never been standing in front of a mirror when you are at the height of your capability the way you blaze scorching and depressing the world in equal measure but that presence that confused you thats you
Chapter 2377
Friends companions Don Beigon smiled warmly around at the individuals The fat and greedy assembled fish stank with self satisfaction all bottom feeders with mediocre images and entitlement dripping off their swollen bodies Im so glad youve agreed to meet with me today Considering the circumstances Ill skip right to the crux of this important issue The Nether Lattice was a Nexus institution too important to simply allow it to fade with the death of Lathis The damage to the structure is significant but that can be overcome with concerted effort Especially with all the specialized capability assembled here
His opening comments earned a few nervous chuckles A few of the larger invitees fidgeted at the back sweat beginning to bead on their skin At first Don Beigon had worried that the actions of the Actus Suprem would undercut his plan before he could gather all the relevant pieces but in the end it only added a bit of ripe desperation to these individuals
They were canny to have survived in the cutthroat environment of the Nexus but even the most powerful individuals developed blindspots while in the grips of fear
What do you propose Don One of the attendees an amorphous being composed almost entirely of crackling storm clouds asked the carefully pitched rumbles of thunder
Don Beigon leaned back He was not eager He was certain and confident Yet at the same time he let his studiously controlled features show I plan on calling in a portion of the debts owed to me and have those fortunate individuals join the Nether Lattice in lieu of typical payment Well honestly isnt it almost like I am doing them a favor I am well aware of the capability given to esteemed figures within the Nether Lattice They should be grateful for the chance at power
Several individuals murmured their interest as the group considered this news A humanoid hawk retained her suspicions Yet why would you do this for us Don And why now
I do this now because we have a period of instability approaching surely you can feel it in the air Surely you have noticed rogue elements attempting to establish tiny little kingdoms of their own within the wider Nexus While Im sure Elhume will eventually bring these elements into alignment given enough time it also cannot be denied that Elhume has his vision focused on higher concerns Don Beigon spread his hands wide In the meantime a firm hand is required to protect the valuable institutions we have built
How different is your little estate here from those rebel kingdoms The hawk snorted Certainly youve spared no expense reinforcing your walls
The Don ignored the tone the fact that she was here and had already eaten his food meant that tiny variances in attitude wouldnt affect the outcome at all As to your first question in exchange for this assistance I hope for two boons First I hope the revived Nether Lattice and I will maintain a close relationship Truly I believe instability is coming friends in this time will be more valuable than any other currency Secondly I would like the insight of the assembled personages to help me condense a Nether Core of my very own
He allowed his very real desperation to accomplish this now leak the tiniest bit into his voice Too much would be revealed as melodrama too little wouldnt instill them with the overconfidence he wished to trigger