Chapter 746 (1/2)

“It’s not a big deal,” Rejt insisted. “They don’t hate you, they are simply pack-creatures. Since Tessa was afraid of you, the rest of ‘em.”

Randidly grinned, in spite of his bleak mood. “They aren’t ‘pack creatures’, Rejt. They are kids.”

“Dangerous and swarming, I agree,” Rejt said with a thoughtful tone.

The group of children who had been watching Tessa had wandered over, attracted by the noise of the wind descending. Seeing Rejt so injured, they had rushed out with wide eyes. Even Tessa had overcome her deep fear of Randidly to approach and lick frantically at the small cuts that covered him.

At first, the mood was tense and worried. But very quickly, Tessa noticed Randidly and hissed at him.

On its own, this would mean nothing. But when Randidly frowned at the strange Soulless creature, it had shrieked and run to hide behind Rejt. Suddenly, everyone was privy to the game; Randidly was a monster. With extremely exaggerated screams, they all now fled at the slightest sign of Randidly.

In a way, Randidly understood what was happening. To these kids, Rejt was a towering figure that represents strength and wisdom. To see him injured was scary. So, they needed someone to blame. They needed to take action to give themselves a sense of control.

Such a misunderstood Progenitor… Randidly thought bleakly.

But before he could dwell on it too much, something grabbed his attention. Raising his gaze, Randidly frowned through the thick stone walls of Carthak.

Whatever was going on was still without the mountain. What Randidly had sensed was another crease in the world forming, the of the same sort that had formed around Rejt as the winds descended from the sky. It was happening again? So soon…?

It was possible that Randidly touching the images of the world, or his images themselves were the cause. His being here was exacerbating the conflicts in the world. Still, the longer he looked at that strange conflux of forces, the more Randidly realized that this one was much different than what had occurred with Rejt.

That had been something like he, as Progenitor, pouring water and being surprised that it was falling down a slope. He simply hadn’t understood the shape of this inner world and how it would reach when he intervened directly. The longer he spent time here, the more complex an ecosystem it seemed. Him being a god was not quite accurate. There was so much more at play here.

And that was what Randidly was currently seeing. Once the strange phenomenon around Rejt had given him warning of the other elements at play, he could now feel their rough shape. And this shape… hopefully, it would answer more questions than Rejt had.

Following his instincts, Randidly stood and began to walk toward the front of the chapel. With the kid’s assistance and Randidly hiding his powers a little less, they had actually made good time clearing out the main area. Now, a football-field sized space was mostly clear, with East and West wings just as large in the process of being excavated.

As Randidly passed, the kids shrieked and fled. With a trembling Tessa in his arms, Rejt walked up to Randidly. “What is it? Someone else coming for your head?”

Randidly had a strong feeling that one of the forces he could see clashing was the Ashen Image. The hopeless, grasping destruction. But the other one.

“Maybe,” Randidly said softly. He cast a glance at Rejt. Even now, there was a lingering sense of… something that clung to him. Being surrounded by that dense clump of energy had altered something in the core of Rejt. Even now, he seemed to stand taller, to entirely occupy a larger portion of the world. He was dense in a way he hadn’t been before.

“Maybe,” Randidly said again, turning back and looking at the collision of forces. “I have a feeling… something important is happening over there.”

“Well then,” Rejt said. “Let’s ditch work. Surely, such a thing will have no consequences.”

*****