Chapter 1014 (2/2)
Garrett chewed on his lip. “Well, it looks a lot like an Engraving.”
Vye didn’t bother to respond. Although it might just be her imagination, it did feel like the pain had diminished somewhat. She simply looked up at the sky above them and hoped it would recede further. It was dusk, so she must have been unconscious for a while. And now that she had experienced the image stone for herself, her confidence in being able to seize that free day shrunk and withered to almost nothing.
But there was still a seed of possibility that remained. Vye didn’t plan on giving up. Part of the problem was how strong the… well… image was in there. I wasn’t ready for it. But if I work on it, I’m sure that my Willpower is more than enough to overcome one lonely monster...
“Oh, also, I’m glad you awakened so quickly,” Garrett said. “We were given the night off. Naffur waited until most people were passed out from attempting the Image Stones to announce it, but we of the Order Ducis are encouraged to participate in Erickson Steel’s festival. We are officially required to do no training until dawn tomorrow.”
Vye leapt to her feet with such force that she immediately had to gasp and fall to one knee as the movement sent a wave of pain through her already agonizing hand. It really seemed like using the Skill inside of the Image Stone had some weird effect on her hand. Hopefully, the pain would fade enough that she could enjoy the festival while they had free time.
As she staggered back to her feet, Vye paused. “Ah… why hasn’t anyone pulled him out?”
Vye pointed toward Aldo, who had collapsed at about the fifteen-meter mark, just like everyone else had. At this point, he was twitching occasionally, his fingers and toes spasming as he remained unconscious within the area of the Image Stone. Aldo had gone in right before Vye, so if she just now recovered, he had probably been in there for almost an hour.
“He said he wanted to ‘submerge himself in the Ghosthound’s image’,” Garrett said with a smirk. “So he requested to be left in there for a while after he went unconscious.”
“That can’t be healthy,” Vye frowned over toward Aldo’s body. Was the body wiggling?
“Yea well, everyone wanted to know how long they could afford to leave themselves in the Image Stone’s area afterward. And to see if it would improve their chances the next time. So I’m sure someone will remove him in another few hours.”
“Not if everyone just leaves to go enjoy the festival.”
Garrett’s frown deepened. “What, you want to wait here then and babysit him?”
“Nope, just wanted to be sure we were on the same ethical page.” Vye turned away from Aldo’s twitching body. “Let’s go; I’m dying for a deep fried oreo.”
“Oh, didn’t you want to know how far you got?” Garrett asked as he scrambled to catch up with her.
Vye had to use her other hand to steady her left; when it was jostled, she wanted to walk back into the range of the Image Stone just to knock herself out. “Nope.”
“I really think you do,” Garrett insisted. “You… well-”
“Did I even reach the ten-meter circle?” Vye grimaced.
Garrett paused and looked back toward the Image Stone. “Well, technically no.”
“Then let’s go. Don’t be so fixated on external validation,” Vye muttered irritably. The pain was making it difficult to even concentrate on what Garrett was saying. Instead, Vye pictured all of the deep fried goodness that she would soon ingest.
*****
After the judging, Randidly enjoyed the sensation of standing on top of the hastily erected reward stage and savoring the surrounding images of the festival. He had clambered up on the metal scaffolding, putting himself beyond the edge of the festival’s halo of light. As the stage was currently dark, the reward ceremony wasn’t for another two hours, even if someone stood directly below Randidly and looked up they wouldn’t be able to see him.
Which gave him time to think. And to examine the people within Erickson Steel.
Oh…? After about fifteen minutes of moving through extremely gratifying images of progress and hope, Randidly found an exceedingly strange image. One of jealousy and desire. Honestly, finding the image made Randidly smile; he knew such images would be a part of Erickson Steel, so he was relieved to finally find examples of them. Fears were much more intimidating when you couldn’t find proof of them. Now that he found it, he could prepare.
But the more that Randidly felt the nuances of the image, the more amused he became. ...you want to take everything I have created? You believe you deserve to control Erickson Steel? That you are the leader that this place needs…?
Randidly couldn’t even help it. He began to guffaw, leaning forward and holding his stomach to control the bubbling laughter.
After a few minutes, Randidly was able to ease up on the laughter. Have I been making this look so easy that anyone thinks they can do what I do? Well, I do consistently disappear from the public eye to work on other projects… but that’s not because Erickson Steel doesn’t require more work; its because other things are even more important.
Grasp of the World Seed whirred into action. Randidly felt all the tiny-micro bacteria on the skin of the man who held this image deeply in his heart. He could feel the blades of grass underneath his feet. With Aether, he could peer in and see the shape of his Soulspace. What he found there made Randidly shake his head.
There are dreams… and then there are obsessions, friend. Don’t bite off more than you can chew.