Clicking his tongue Randidly postponed Weakness of the Stillborn Phoenix a little longer Which meant his next Path
Randidly pressed a hand against his chest I feel guilty doing this of using you like this But I know that if you were here youÆd think my reluctance was foolish In your mind you were a tool being used to make me stronger is exactly what you would have wanted So Thank you Helen I would never have been able to make it this far without you
Then the corner of his mouth quirked up even as his eyes ached His voice cracked as he spoke The arrogant taunt broke his heart to say But can you really make me that much more powerful
Congratulations You have completed The Ashes of Helen the GhosthoundÆs Bloody Knight Path On your journey youÆve seen dozens of various figures who have created their own distinct flavor of violence But few can match the grace and beauty that the GhosthoundÆs Knight displayed as she fought The very environment fell under her sway dragging her opponents into a vicious darkness where they were smothered
Due to her capability you follow a Path to find her legacy You walk into a shadowy valley filled with red mist seeking her tomb
The notification was short and without much description It just opened the door so Randidly could fall into another dream He felt himself in that humid valley suppressed by the chill carried by the mist The only clarity came in the Path directly forward And each step he took forward showed him a different shard of HelenÆs life
Step A ten year old Helen sat cross legged in a small room watching her motherÆs back as the older woman prepared a meal Helen sported a black eye and a pale face Her mother spoke without looking up from her cutting The knife made a rhythmic tapping on the wooden counter You lost What is there to say Perhaps you just donÆt have much talent when it comes to the spear But donÆt worry You carry my genes girl Just you wait
Step Helen sat on the backs of the Hallat and rubbed her chin Following a powerful boy to another planet Fuck pisses me off how proud mom would be
Step Spar with me Helen demanded Her chest fluttered as the Ghosthound slowly opened his eyes His gaze was so bright and clear even as he looked at her with dissatisfaction After an aggrieved sigh he nodded
Another thing she didnÆt hate about this man was how he never went easy on her Even as she desperately wanted even the smallest proof that she was catching up to him
Step HelenÆs body ached as Randidly cracked open her Domain and smashed her to the ground with brute force Insultingly he only had to rely on his physical body to do so That was how overwhelming he was becoming Her arms trembled as she pushed herself back up
She refused to stay down As long as she kept getting back up someday
Step The Ghosthound has asked her to head up the training effort She could feel how busy he was how close he was to some new breakthrough another step forward Sitting on the Fifth Cohort Rally Station she sobbed quietly on the empty expanse
He was moving further away from her No matter how deeply she moved through her own Domain no matter how explosive her growth had been in the years since she had met Randidly Ghosthound he stayed ahead He widened the gap
After a time Helen wiped away her tears Her dream might have vanished and withered in her heart but her duty had grown strong IÆm his knight I need to be strong For him there is no one like me
Step Her chest heaved She could barely breathe such was her proximity to collapse as she fought in the grand array against the forces of the Swacc Family In the distance the strange arrangements of burning stars released waves of heat An individual made an attempt on the Pinnacle the first in a long time
She made a difference her efforts helped the Ghosthound And yet
Step Helen grinned and spat in the face of Commandant Wick He will kill you someday you know
Step Randidly blinked several times when he expected some image but none came He raised his head and looked forward A small stone building stood before him with a threshold without a door Through that opening he could see Helen sitting on her final resting place the burial shroud cast to the side One leg was propped up on the stone altar next to her the other dangled over the edge
Her smile toward him was sharp Welcome to my tomb challenger I am the Bloody Knight of the Ghosthound If you wish to receive my power you will need to defeat me in combat By the spear I lived and by the spear I will die And if you fail my test you will join me here for all eternity
Randidly stared at this projection of Helen for a long time She glittered both brighter and more wan than he remembered All the blunt and determined aspects of her personality came here carved from ash He searched her eyes for any hint of recognition toward him Yet her amber gaze didnÆt waver at all
A fight Randidly whispered How nostalgic
Chapter 1932
To RandidlyÆs surprise the dream fight after the Path did not go the way their fights had gone while Helen was alive
HelenÆs spear sheered through RandidlyÆs image physicalizations and slammed against his chest Scowling and deprived of the benefit of his monstrous Stats by the dream Randidly staggered backward
The maroon colored mists had solidified into armor around her body Her face and lithe form were completely covered by angular plates and bulwarks She stood metal and cool violence memory and sizzling ash ready to fight The Helen projection gave him a moment to recover and then raised her spear to follow up
Not taking a break even in death eh Randidly rubbed some blood from his lips and took a stance He didnÆt want to admit to himself how floored he was but he had been caught flat footed by her force More than anyone else he knew HelenÆs power and potential Yet after three minutes he was being thrashed True the dream kept him from manifesting his Stats and relying on any portion of his Nether Core but the flames of Nether Weight
Yet the difference was
Emotion And the way it flows through her Domain Randidly moved into his own fighting stance For a second they stood her spear high and his held low with the tip almost dragging against the ground Then she accelerated forward the maroon waves of the Depths of Horror Domain lapping forward against him Eight long talons ripped out of his left arm and cut a path through the currents his Resonant Fangs of Extinction moving to counter her Did she always
The two DomainÆs pressed close up against each other embracing after so long apart Hers attempted to engulf him tainted with the tang of ash that defined her current existence His gouged deeper through her Domain aiming to strike at her directly
Their bodies moved next hers borrowing RandidlyÆs monstrous Stats and his moving to counter some of her force with deft movements Her spear flicked out a serpentÆs tongue licking and tasting He burned with the heat of his newly acquired Wicked Waltz of Tartarus but he remained distracted by the singing joy and fury riding in her armor
Your emotions Randidly finally opened his mouth
HelenÆs ashy projection responded with an absolutely scathing thrust toward his open mouth He jerked his head sideways and her spear wound like a riverbend its tip cutting a small chunk out of his neck
The reason that Randidly felt so shocked was how wholly HelenÆs emotions merged with her attacks and Domain Obviously her Skillset and the image she developed from it had a wide base But the varied elements that she managed to include in her emotional affect
His eyes flickered as he gave ground sweeping Acri at her waist Helen swayed around the blow and kept coming unleashing a brutal onslaught of attacks that hammered at his image projections each time His joints ached and he shuddered to withstand the blows The unfamiliar pain of being physically overmatched began to take up residence in his shoulders and hips