The strange Vulpine husks came first crackling with overwhelming power but walking with stumbling steps Then the sky darkened as though Elhumes disapproving attention could warp even the weather The crowd of Nether Lattice converts cowered before that darkness The grand Engraving that advanced the portal’s climb began to sputter and spark affected by the adverse shift in energy
Then came the fists puffing into the sky Timeless Timeless Timeless Timeless Timeless First hundreds then thousands then what felt like millions of prepared fists popped into existence Until the shambling husks became an afterthought until the darkened sky seemed harmless until Don Beigon had difficulty breathing beneath their hovering weight They formed a floating drifting wall of violence a briefly stayed but promised doom
We must flee The humanoid hawk whispered All of the members of the Nether Lattice shivered behind her Their eyes had grown wide and panicked
Despite the situation the Don couldnt help but chuckle He felt a sour note of satisfaction It is far too late for that
The fists began their journey forward They covered the horizon to the point it was just a teeming wall of knuckles Their approach seemed like the entire world was closing up around the ground
It felt almost inevitable that they would be crushed in Elhumes palm
Don Beigon began pulling more deeply from the Nether Lattice He borrowed and borrowed from their well of significance throwing more and more energy into the struggling grand Engraving sending it roaring to life with this impending threat He felt the debts he owed to these individuals piling up Yet each moment meant that his journey through the Path to the Pinnacle would be that much easier
Through the hanging portal the Don could sense a heaviness beginning to gather Small motes of oblivion crowded the edge of the portal Soon he thought to himself
Don Beigon The humanoid hawk squawked out her displeasure She fluttered her arm wings caught between conflicting impulses and emotions Now is not the time for this We must gather our power Nether Lattice move together and stop him from dooming us all
As I said too late
The Dons lip curled as she began to try and cut off his access to their significance He had helped them in their haphazard construction efforts which meant he understood exactly how precarious the current Nether Lattice had become no longer did a Lathis sit atop the pyramid a cabal clustered and crowded the top plateau Their responses were sluggish requiring a majority of their wills to accomplish her request He caught the eyes of a few unobtrusive figures of influence within the Nether Lattice Older debts were called in to be paid
When the hawk humanoid tried to shut the tunnel a few key individuals counteracted her decision The Nether Lattice wavered Its power remained open to him and Don Beigon did not stand on ceremony
He pulled and pulled dumping out all the significance they possessed
Raymund Ballast kept his back straight and his chin lifted In his body he denied any presence of exhaustion Report
A group of six five standing and one sitting tense individuals gathered in the makeshift command tent they had erected at the edges of the ghastly plains in which they found themselves They had just broken through the encirclement not once but twice to give the Vulpis Squad a picture of how bad their situation had really become
Hieffal sniffed and looked at her Perhaps it was the pain or the slow collapse of his image but there was an icy certainty at the center of the previously jovial man Speak for yourself But more than our individual power we are acting as Nether overflow stabilizers for the Ghosthound while we are in this separate temporal flow Cannot you feel it Fiero isnt stupid So long as we exist out here the shift in Randidlys core is being accelerated Yes restraining Pines arrival is important but that doesnt solve the problem of Randidly kicking him off the throne So I say we are missing something Before we run we need to find it
We dont have the personnel to send another scouting expedition Everyone is too exhausted Clamman shook his head
I believe Heiffal suggests a full mobilization Raymund said slowly
Of course Charlottes gaze grew alarmed Thats impossible In your condition
Ive survived this long havent I Besides Ive absorbed more Nether than the rest of you It should hold me together long enough to see this through Heiffal looked around at the group his eyes chips of ice Look at our situation We wont get out of this without paying a price Better I pay it than some of you with real potential
Sir Edgar interrupted with a sharp step forward Your potential
Heiffal waved his hand in dismissal My significance grows quickly but thats just because my image is almost completely gone My potential is nothing significant
If we get you back to the Alpha Cosmos Charlotte began but Heiffal silenced her with a look
Into that heavy silence Raymund sighed His own instincts twitched He wondered how Techetadore recuperating in the Alpha Cosmos I trust Heiffals instincts We cannot allow ourselves to be dead weight for the Ghosthound The group will move tomorrow Vant take over from Jieu he will need time to bank his fire before we proceed Charlotte assist him At the half shift mark proceed to the injured quarters I hate to ask this of you but we need
Ill beggar myself to get them back on their feet Charlotte bowed As Hieffal has said I think the Nether Ive accumulated can keep me going even when my image has been drained to its last drop
Raymund watched them go Clamman went as well to take his own much needed rest Raymund knew the Canines pride was hurt he wasnt given an extra task in the interim but he acknowledged his own limits
If we possessed lassitude and opportunity we would all grow rapidly away from this killing field Raymund thought sadly But our opportunities might have run out
Meanwhile Edgar stepped tentatively up to Heiffals side Might look a bit grim now but look on the bright side at least its your left arm thats deteriorated When we make it back to the Alpha Cosmos return to Kharon your right arm bowling form wont have suffered Youll be able to show Commissioner Arrietti a flawless game
Keh Heiffal turned sideways for a brief second Then he smirked at Edgar Ive actually been thinking about that bastard quite a bit Yea definitely when this is all over lets go back and see how good that human has become No one respects perfection as much as he does
Edgar bowed and left
When he was gone Heiffal began to weep Silently but openly
After a few minutes of standing vigil Raymund released a breath and said the line he had been practicing for several weeks I could borrow a portion of your injuries you know Perhaps a brief respite would allow you to
We both know it would only hamstring you at the most important time Heiffal sniffed damming his tears He leaned sideways and spat then looked at Raymund with clear eyes No your talents are better spent elsewhere I have a different request How much can you repeatedly use your powers Compounding the borrowing The way my significance accumulates when it is spent it comes back faster So if you were to borrow the significance in my body allow more to accumulate then borrow more Would such a process be possible
It is possible But not advisable When such significance is returned Raymund paused He suddenly understood His gaze toward Heiffal sharpened Why
The certainty and resolve in Heiffals eyes felt like facing a deluge of glacier runoff Just insurance
Chapter 2393
Randidly looked at the barriers of time that had been built around this battlefield He felt the subtle flows tugging at his wrists and ankles the net had ensnared him deep enough that he would need to tear through a few temporal beats in order to escape His expression turned harsh both for Fiero for managing this and for himself for missing this areas construction He needed to be better than this
Are you willing to capitulate Fiero asked The question sounded like a taunt Randidly made a promise to himself that he would really pause and savor the next time he drove his fist through the ancient Vulpines jaw