But there was always an opportunity cost
RandidlyÆs jaw clenched He raced forward the speed of his passage and the train of dead following him knocking delicate shaving tools to the ground and starting a small clatter When he stood at that crossroads what would his choice be
But while most of RandidlyÆs attention focused on these last minute preparations he couldnÆt keep his gaze from flickering out to the strange workshop around them As the Songstress of Absence began carving a path in the ground in her vocalÆ warmups they moved from the shelving area to a place filled with three meter wide basins of water Most along the path made by Laplace were cracked and drained but further away Randidly saw an endless plateau of the pools stretching to this left and right Small sparkling clouds of light glittered over the unbroken pools filled with esoteric patterns
Yggdrasil stirred with interest as they passed through to an area covered in wooden frames with draped silk in a thousand different hues The long materials fluttered in a nonexistent wind
The Dread Homunculus growled and gnashed its teeth almost driven mad by the pressure of the dead as they moved to an area filled with bookshelves Randidly pressed his lips together could the entire knowledge of the Nexus dead be gathered here
It was only when they passed through to the final portion of this space the rumblings of LaplaceÆs violence shaking the air that Randidly finally put together the true meaning of this place
Broken chalkboards littered the ground in this section but from the shattered pieces Randidly saw complex Engravings of a style that Randidly didnÆt recognize Different portions of the ground were covered with Engravings of poured and set gold making glittering arrays of indeterminate purpose In the distance Randidly saw marble pillars with immaculately made dolls sitting atop them He didnÆt recognize the dolls but he could feel the general aura of this place so similar to his own PanguÆs Asymptote
The epiphany came when Randidly looked across the vast distance to the left and saw one doll in particular with half of its face and its left arm missing but with an emerald for a right eye The doll sat beneath a flowering tree with a monster for a shadow and cradling an event horizon in its arms
All details matter
A Truth had naturally formed in RandidlyÆs chest with the accumulation of all his efforts in the Nexus so far GhosthoundÆs Deviation finally had a concrete name as each second passed its volume rose and rose searing the inside of his body
Randidly pressed his lips together After a moment of indecision he sent out a strand of Willpower and quieted the approaching crescendo Discovering the shape of my Truth couldnÆt have come at a better time But I need all three before IÆm willing to step onto the Pinnacle If all details matter timing is also very important
Almost unwillingly that calculative perspective on existence shivered and settled down within his body waiting for its chance to explode
Randidly planted his foot against the ground as another wrath filled temporal explosion occurred in front of him He felt grateful for the tightly bound significance of this workshop as he mobilized the whole of his Primordial Nether Juju and Dreadful Alacrity His physical body pushed beyond the bounds of the System accelerated He tore through the air dragging the dead behind him
The vision of Laplace sharpened The snakeÆs long arms his scaled back his fat dragging tail were clear The Eternity raised a clawed hand and jabbed it forward Arrayed against this monster were a half dozen souls of the dead but even to RandidlyÆs eyes they blazed with powerful energy halos Their Aether and Nether did not move in concert but at least did not sizzle and weaken their auras
Yet when the temporal hammer fell the dead soul faltered and fractured His history had been sundered and his energy sputtered and died Laplace cackled with glee
The remaining dead didnÆt move to attack but instead bellowed out keening whispers the trickle of grave dust the scrape of dry bones shifting against each other The spoke in the language of the dead hoping Laplace could hear their words But Laplace simply waved one of its fat hands Time spun in whirlpools The keening noises reached its senses but in a scrambled order
Like all others the language of the dead was still a language When jumbled it would lose all communicative power
Laplace slithered forward its horrific world state infecting outward It slapped one defender to the side and smashed another to the ground ItÆs black clock eyes turned to the soul of a young woman who released a piercing note
For a moment the Eternity paused But then it pounced forward and shattered her body This horrific being cackled again releasing a burst of its dreadful significance The last of the defenders were knocked to the side Laplace turned and faced the far wall of the workshop where the final barrier of PineÆs corpse remained
The Eternity reached
But then it jerked to a stop RandidlyÆs hand had been faster in seizing its tail For the first time since it had arrived its confusion weakened the temporal significance it released
Those black eyes turned around and regarded a grinning Randidly Ghosthound He settled into that familiar stance of a spear thrust as he inserted his image of a clock hand along AcriÆs edge Behind him all the dead and damned began their stampede forward Are you ready for round two
Chapter 2422
For a long moment Randidly Ghosthound and Laplace stared at each other
The Eternity seemed shocked deaf to his words Randidly ran a light mental finger over all the weapons he prepared making sure each was in its place This was it all his preparation and growth just for this moment
Power existed within just attention Randidly felt his own temporal reality unravel just slightly from the extended focus of the Eternity Laplace seemed to maintain a constant aura around its body that pulsed with dangerous shape the significance had been hammered into for untold amounts of years But while Laplace used that attention just to puff up its aura Randidly fully uncorked the bottle holding all the vicious emotions of the dead riding on his cloak Darkness violence and howling desperation distorted the air with its intoxicating presence
Very few events could unite the bitter dead like the presence of an invader in their midst They breathed out spite and settled ready for the explosion
The long and fat tail of Laplace twitched RandidlyÆs left hand tightened as he leveled his spear Both strained their eyes still locked on one another Image the emotions of the dead significance Truth vessel CHeCk for new stories on no/v/el/bin( )c0m
All had been prepared
Randidly felt a grim pleasure as even through the black expanse of those clock faces Laplace had for eyes he could read the shock in the EternityÆs expression as he physically held it in place He planted his left foot He pivoted power flowing through his waist as he unleashed his thrust
The dead burst past him with a keening roar An invader was in their midst a foreign being that had bulldozed through all the restrictions of PineÆs corpse seeking to destroy devour and manipulate the core of this land of death Randidly nudged them slightly with his Synechdochence layering the various specters upon one another until they became an endless torrent of caustic emotion Despite the powerful shape aura of Laplace they scythed forward without pause His body had been reinforced beyond belief on his journey through the Nexus but even he trembled as he channeled all this dangerous force
Congratulations Your Skill ErebusÆ Baleful Waltz has grown to Level 1123
Congratulations Your Skill GhosthoundÆs Cloak of a Thousand Lightless Horizons has grown to Level 1259
Even if only a rotten dreg lingered of a soul after their death Randidly had scooped up all those dregs and erupted like a necrotic volcano He rode the wave and attacked