Chapter 1041 (2/2)
Randidly, who might still just be a weird amalgamation of personality quirks thrown onto the Grim Chimera, scratched his cheek. Yggdrasil’s answer was rather unhelpful, but he took the point; in addition, that wasn’t the most important issue to address.
Randidly crawled over to the corner where Yggdrasil was standing and pointed at the curled form of the Ignition Essence in its gnarled hands. Perhaps because Randidly had already accepted this body was of an image as well, Randidly felt somewhat shaken by the inert form in Yggdrasil’s hands. “So… is there anything that I can do? If you need to take back the part that you gave me…”
“The emerald color of your eyes came from Ignition,” Yggdrasil said sadly. Its roots continued to undulate around the flickering tongue of emerald flame, each root covered in dense golden script. But then Yggdrasil shook his foliage. “No, I believe something fundamentally changed in you when all the traits I could gather came together. For now, I wouldn’t even have the slightest idea how to go about helping Ignition. The best thing we can do is wait.”
Yggdrasil turned its trunk and Randidly was abruptly struck with the realization that it was looking intently at him. “Which means we will need to survive here for a while. The fastest way to make sure Ignition recovers would be to recover our true body, but I am… unsure how easy such a process would be. Although the language of Engraving is a pat of me, I cannot read Aether as our true body can. For now, we should be cautious and come to understand this place before we begin making plans to escape.”
Randidly’s lips slid backward to reveal his teeth. “If there is one thing I’m confident of, it's fighting. Leave that to me.”
After that, the two beings who were limited by their images compared their findings regarding the capability they currently possessed. By and large, Yggdrasil had discovered the same limits that Randidly himself had regarding the Skills that it could access. The only meaningful difference was that Yggdrasil had some capability of manipulating Aether. The problem with that discovery was it didn’t possess any real ability to see what sort of effects its manipulation caused.
In effect, Yggdrasil using Aether was like a blind man swinging something he thought was probably an ax but might also be a broom with a heavy brush. Certainly, it might have an effect when swung at the right time, but only as a surprise attack; once the opponent saw the strike, Yggdrasil didn’t stand a chance.
Once the discussion was over, Randidly returned to focusing on his own recovery. Even if Emerald Leaves of Yggdrasil could do a lot to gather clarity to his mind, he was still deeply exhausted by the image trial. Yet as soon as he closed his eyes, Randidly couldn’t stop seeing his claws ripping through the flesh of a woman holding two swords, his bone spear sliding into a skull, his legs smashing an image’s knee with enough force to shatter the bones…
It was an intoxicating sort of violence that Randidly found in his head after the image refinement. Some part of himself whispered that giving into the violence wasn’t always the best answer, but Randidly ignored that. For the short term, Randidly would be fighting on the front lines. He couldn’t afford to be distracted or hesitate.
After all, the Grim Chimera was a creature that was the ultimate survivor. It fought and struggled in order to exist. The great gift that the image refining of the Eidolon Crucible had given to him through that trial was to make that struggle for survival seem concrete. The endless fighting… the intimidating odds… the constant presence of danger…
Randidly could feel the depth of his image slowly increasing. And part of him wondered if the methodology of the trial would change as the needs for his image changed. It was probably an area that would be worth considering for the future.
But, unfortunately, he only had another few hours to prepare. Because after the three days had passed, Zagnal once more turned up outside the tent. As Randidly suspected, he could also sense that many other images in the surrounding area were stirring and leaving their tents to head off in long lines toward the South.
Randidly left the tent and straightened to look at the dragon-headed man. “...my fellow images are still recuperating. Would it be alright if only I go to the frontlines to battle.”
Behind him, Randidly could feel Yggdrasil’s unwillingness to allow him to fight alone even while Yggdrasil begrudgingly accepted the knowledge that its current role was to remain and protect Ignition Essence. They hadn’t talked about it explicitly, but Randidly expected that they wouldn’t have to; Yggdrasil would understand what needed to be done.
In the darkness of the tent, Yggdrasil remained completely still while Zagnal’s gaze slid to examine the depths of the tent. From the rather tired expression on Zagnal’s face, it wasn’t that he disbelieved Randidly. It only seemed like Zagnal didn’t approve of Randidly’s choice.
Then Zagnal’s gaze back to Randidly. “...it is not impossible. Although your first battle is easy, it is still a battle against the cursed abominations from Nether. If you choose this Path, it is open to you. But you risk a crippling wound if you go alone. Are you willing to take that risk?”
Randidly nodded. Of course, it barely matters to you at all what I choose, does it…? We images… we are just fodder. If we die, there will always be more worlds to suck life from so the System can grow.
For several seconds, Zagnel looked at Randidly. He considered every inch of him. His gaze was extremely heavy with pity. But ultimately, he said nothing to dissuade Randidly further. Turning away, Zagnal said. “Follow me then. It’s time you see the Great Rift.”