Chapter 751 (2/2)

That brought him face to face with the second problem: The Ashen Image. Be it his Soulskill or his plant Skills generally, it had infected him. In small ways Randidly found himself fighting back, but he felt like he was missing something.

Previously, Randidly had the Cycles of Rot and Ash. He obviously knew about death and reincarnation, the conservation of matter, and various other forms of recycling. But for whatever reason, that deep heat and vicious cold that he had found in his ash now seemed like the end. That image had become something so unshakable that it couldn’t be transformed further.

Or even if that was an exaggeration, it could not be transformed quickly. With the help of his Aether connections, he found small ways to neutralize the Ashen Image. Allica and Rejt were proof of that.

Randidly paused in his weaving to close his eyes. Not that it did anything, as it was just as dark without as within his eyelids. But it did wipe away the drifting images that Randidly had been previously thinking about. With that blank slate, he reached toward his core and felt through the conflux of Aether that sustained him. At this point, the currents and eddies were too complex for Randidly to manage. He was a spring and a drain and there were large and small rivers and streams running into and out of him. Images mixed and formed together in strange combinations. The weak ones broke apart and drifted until they could find their match.

The strong connections formed images that clung together and began to create a small whirlpool in the surrounding area. With that small current, similar images drifted over. Very slowly, larger clumps of meaning were being created inside of Randidly. And of course, hovering over it all was Randidly’s Soulskill, growing on this places fumes.

With a sigh, Randidly removed his perception from that part of himself. For all that he wished to be able to make sense of that place and find an answer there, it seemed impossible. Even if the answer was there for the taking, it would take some time to form in its right iterations. Not even part of the answer would be right.

What could transform Ash?

That was what Randidly was looking for at the moment.

Randidly opened his eyes. The same darkness was waiting, same without as within. But now Randidly had a weapon cradled in his arm. His clumsy woven torch was ready. It felt so incredibly light, leaning against his chest. Although weight didn’t necessarily relate to power, after three weeks in this place Randidly was almost hyper-aware of the weight of his body. It was overwhelming.

Now, to rely on such a slight thing to help him escape…

The process of weaving had taken four hours, so Randidly wasted no time in placing the woven torch back into the ground. He shifted it left and right, so it had enough support to stand straight up. Then Randidly shuffled over, waited, and then shuffled closer again.

With great care, Randidly positioned his elbow on the ground, waited, then straightened his elbow so his hand was resting against the top of the torch. Leaning not enough to knock it over, but enough to lower the Stamina expenditure.

What’s ironic, Randidly thought with a smile, is that this will, in fact, create more ash. But even if it does fire also gives me-

In what felt like the slowest moment of his life, Randidly blinked. His eyelids moved glacially across the thin membrane of his eyes.

Then Randidly laughed once, loud and tinged with disbelief.

“I was an idiot,” Randidly said to the darkness. It had pressed so close to him for so long, it felt wrong to keep the answer from it now. “Ash isn’t a step in the process- well, it obviously is. But obsessing over ash is a dead end. Because ash is the byproduct, if that becomes the core, the whole system collapses.”

Randidly pressed with his will lightly to the world, building toward an image. His fingers were light on the top of the torch. “There are other byproducts. Heat, light, and by that light, vision. But my system needs balance. My plants have become stricken by ash. So to counter…”

Although Randidly was building toward something large, all his focus went toward the small point at the tip of his fingers. A seed slowly took form. “...to counter, I will give the other side growth. Warmth. Inspiration. Understanding. Because sometimes, all you need is a good story. And in the stories, humans were nothing before Prometheus.”

Randidly lowered his voice and the darkness huddled closer, straining to hear. Randidly thought perhaps it was cruel, but drew the darkness closer anyway, even as he prepared to decree its banishment. “Because the true catalyst is the fire. Fire is what changes humanity from beasts to men. Gathered around its hungry light, all of civilization grew.”

There was a spark. From that tiny, concentrated seed there was a flash of light as the image grew strong enough to bring it to life. There was a crack and a sizzle, and suddenly a thin plume of smoke rose upward from the torch's tip. When nothing followed, Randidly pressed harder with his will.

Grow for me. Illuminate. Show me the land on which I will build my world.

Silently, a tongue of flame flickered upward from the torch. With a strange shyness, it flickered and shrunk and grew. Its hue was brilliant emerald.

Randidly bared his teeth.