but their movements also provided quite a few other benefits in the form of Skill Level Ups With more VPs his own potential would continue to climb
Congratulations Your Skill Echoes of a Living Myth has grown to Level 1404
Congratulations Your Skill Wake of Miracles has grown to Level 1410
Congratulations Your Skill Heralds of the GhosthoundÆs Legend has grown to Level 1515
Congratulations Your Skill Charisma of the Arch Heretic has grown to Level 1251
Congratulations Your Skill What the Ghosthound Sows He Will Soon Reap has grown to Level 1721
Randidly considered his available Creeds each represented a slight variation on somewhat similar empowerments He pressed his lips together Any answer was fine for now but he needed to consider the consequences for the Alpha Cosmos of his choice Both for the stability and for a little extra energy given to the people helping to restrain the weight of the dead Randidly poured 2000 VPs each into Duty and Harmony
Then he gritted his teeth and leaned forward He grasped for the vulnerable core of the Eternity ignoring the agony in his shaking arms He shifted his weight He took another step forcing back the defensive significance of Laplace His body creaked and groaned but he flooded his veins with the sparkling waves of translucent significance his Nether Core produced His footing remained stable
Temporal flows slammed against him but he did not falter
Congratulations Your Skill Randildy Ghosthound Executive of Nether Reborn has grown to Level 2079
Do you think you can stop me like this Randidly stared into the bloody gashes in LaplaceÆs eyes their two forms leaning together Trembling seemed to jump from one to the other until both bodies buzzed Randidly GhosthoundÆs Grand Fate was a ravenous animal lashing out and crashing through impediments With athletic displays it forged its way forward
The Eternity housed a steadily worsening avalanche It threw more and more at the Grand Fate in a desperate attempt to demolish its momentum
LaplaceÆs long tongue undulated to the side then sharpened to a razor point and drilled at RandidlyÆs chest He removed a hand from Acri and caught the attack before it could land The impact disintegrated the last few bits of solid ground beneath the twoÆs feet leaving them floating in a churning globe of force
The hand driving Acri and his image/Grand Fate deeper into LaplaceÆs body didnÆt waver in the slightest The Grand Fate continued to lope forward leaping from one portion of the avalanche of time to another staying abreast of the collapse
RandidlyÆs smile widened He manifested the regal World Tree behind his body breaking all the chaotic energies mixing in the environment
Congratulations Your Skill The First Tree Suffers Only Fealty has grown to Level 1733
When Yggdrasil pressed down against all the wild kinetic forces they meekly stilled and showed their submission That opening was all that Randidly needed he swirled the powers together into a storm The storm tightened into a spiral that slammed into RandidlyÆs back just as he leaned forward He exploded driving Acri just a little bit deeper The Grand Fate bound up the last third of the distance to its target glittering amongst the folds of time
Congratulations Your Skill Truth Within the Primordial Flux has grown to Level 1641
Randidly barred his teeth and drew power together for one more attempt
You cannot yet take the last step Laplace said in a low triumphant tone Just like all others the door to godhood is barred to you
I do not need to be a god to end you Randidly growled back Kinetic force swirled into his agonized muscles He felt hundreds of small ruptures in his arms and legs but didnÆt have the spare attention for them He was so close
LaplaceÆs laugh rippled out through even his calcified time Perhaps eventually But now here before your people are obliterated by the weight of your expectations You will fail
RandidlyÆs mind raced for a second searching for an answer as he readjusted his stance He bent his knees fingers tightening even further on Acri his entire being narrowed to methods to produce explosive power to crack open this shell Yet just as his panic began to congeal in his chest he smoothed it away His eyes were clear
If you havenÆt felt it itÆs difficult to comprehend the power of an entire universe They are not that feeble Randidly said just as much to himself as to Laplace He felt his Vessel stir in response He felt a psychological connection click into place They donÆt always need me to protect them from every threat
His heart tightened as he felt the Alpha Cosmos roaring out their defiance They were a smaller universe one born in RandidlyÆs body and developed only over decades Yet at their height they pulsed with enough power to hold back the darkness of the Nexus
In answer to their efforts Randidly felt his Creeds resonating in his body They were the new Soul of the Alpha Cosmos the disposition that would shape its development He felt the steely weight of Duty in his bones He felt the fire of Vengeance in his stomach He felt the cool tingling sensation of harmony as the individuals combined their images He felt Tolerance enduring the crushing weight of another universeÆs festering subconscious
Randidly pivoted preparing for another Acri thrust His three images stirred gathering up their remnant powers from opening the path to create a battering ram and break down this last door
The Alchemist stilled He drew RandidlyÆs attention to the precise word usage that Laplce had just used Just like all others the door to godhood is barred to you
RandidlyÆs emerald pupils dilated He purposefully let his mind turn over the details of his current situation His perspective began to shift ItÆs all about shapes and roles Anything can be a doorway The way the people of the outer multiverse talk about the Pinnacle is reaching a threshold and either becoming the door to create a new universe or stepping through it for a single moment to ascend to the height of power
Congratulations Your Skill Alpha Cosmos Births a Shallah has grown to Level 1516
He did not follow through with his thrust Time constricted around him but Randidly ignored it Flicking his wrist he signaled to Acri to slither up his arm and to its usual resting place at his waist The plant weapon hummed in confusion but obeyed Randidly stretched out his left hand and pressed his palm up against that last barrier
He released a breath I am blind to Truth Truth is the resonance that would guide me to the point where I could make that decision but technically I am not barred from the Pinnacle I will just pass it by without sensing its proximity
Congratulations Your Skill Alpha Cosmos Births a Shallah has grown to Level 1539
But isnÆt the Pinnacle also just a shape RandidlyÆs gaze sharpened The trembling in his body worsened as his stillness allowed the physical erosion to intensify Even the Vessel of Randidly Ghosthound began to buckle and fail against the core defenses of Laplace Yet his only response was to spend the VPs he had been able to gather with recent Skill Levels 2000 to Vengeance and 2000 to Tolerance
His flesh relaxed by a small degree allowing him to endure just a little more Randidly leaned forward The fire in his belly was banked filling him with heat and conviction Randidly flexed his splayed out fingers IsnÆt it enough that I know at the moment IÆm standing upon a powerful threshold All I need to do now
Randidly Ghosthound drew out his AlchemistÆs Passport the evolved version of his first Fate He flicked the Fate once reverting it back to its original form the PhilosopherÆs Key He thrust his right hand forward driving this weaponÆ into the threshold and twisting
Congratulations Your Skill Alpha Cosmos Births a Shallah has grown to Level 1600
His senses were numbed by the pressure but Randidly lingered in the strain even as his Vessel wore down He searched struggling to keep his hand steady as he sensed the small little snags in existence Sweat dripped down his brow and evaporated underneath the dangerous kinetic forces