Chapter 666 (2/2)

Perhaps… it was actually him.

But the problem at hand was daunting. An image that survived two Calamities would be strong. In terms of Skill Level… Randidly estimated somewhere between four hundred and five hundred. And that might be conservative. More worrying, the Level didn’t account for the fervor that the holder believed in the image. If he had learned anything from Skarch, it was that this was of paramount importance. Taking such a powerful image directly into himself…

It was no wonder why others perished. In a small sample, Randidly had noticed the way that the strange Aether that Silo had been absorbing has altered him. Altered him to the point that even though Randidly sensed Silo behind enemy lines, there was almost no movement from the guy.

Even then, that wasn’t the same, because Silo was absorbing someone’s processed Aether. It wasn’t just image, there were thoughts and memories and emotions and life energy mixed inexorably into that Aether. That was the fabric of somebodies existence.

If the metaphor for Silo was trying to swim against the current of a vast river, what the Patron of Ash was suggesting was to take one-tenth of the weight of the river, condense it into a fist-sized ball, and ask you to catch it. The sheer difference and density were tough to understand.

In order to buy some time, Randidly gestured at the world below. There was something about the air here… the heat was getting to him. “...where are you in all of this?”

“Ah, a good question, boy.” The Patron of Ash said with a wide smile. “The boy named Ulaat is still growing below. This brings us to the second secret: the life of Ulaat. This one you earned for asking the right question. But first, let me set the stage.

“Generally, the Second Calamity will result in one of two things happening. First, there is a victor; either the original image triumphs over the fears or the fears were superior and they assume the legitimate reality. The fears are, after all, a glorified projection unless they seize the other side’s validity. From the System’s perspective, it cares not; all it seeks is strength.”

The Patron of Ash waved his hand and their viewpoint shifted. They were floating above a small village near the border of the territory between the two sides, but not so close that they had to be worried all the time about raids from the bugs. “The second option is that worlds stall out, for one reason or another. Sometimes the images are equal, sometimes although one image is stronger, the people wielding it do not optimally fight against the opposition. The Fifth Cohort World, Tellus, is one such place.”

The view zoomed in further, and suddenly Randidly and the Patron of Ash were in a small treetop house in the village. The house didn’t look special at all from the outside, and within it appeared similarly normal. A man and a woman were there, playing with a baby. There were scrolls in racks at the wall. Night was falling, and the man lit a candle so he could read a few of the scrolls that had piled up on his desk.

“Like all things, accidents sometimes happen, even in the awesome System,” The Patron of Ash said slowly. “Some days I believe I was beloved by fate because I survived. But. I have not had one of those days in a thousand years. Instead… I like to believe I was cursed from the beginning.”

The man began to read out loud from the scrolls. The woman slowly grew more and more distracted. Her hands stilled from playing with the baby, and she looked worriedly towards the man.

Obviously, the baby couldn’t understand what was going on. He was young, but he was able enough to push himself into a sitting position with his tail. Seeing that the woman was too enthralled with the man’s voice, the baby began to crawl away.

Abruptly, the woman stood and stormed out of the room. Hurriedly putting down the scroll, the man followed. Without missing a beat, the baby crawled over towards the flickering candle. His eyes were wide as he stared up at it. It took a while, but the baby managed to open his hands and grab the leg of the desk. When that did nothing, he spread his tail awkwardly upwards. To Randidly’s surprise, the baby’s tail was probably twice as long again as his body was.

It barely reached. After several clumsy swipes, the baby knocked the candle down underneath the scroll rack. With wide eyes, he watched the flickering flames grow. As Randidly watched, he could feel himself beginning to burn along with the heat. It was almost a painful feeling, all across his chest.

“Sometimes, a third option happens: in the chaos, an image is born that is so strong that it sweeps the other two images away… that is my story.”