Chapter 1092 (2/2)

Or it better fucking be, Randidly grumbled inwardly.

Ultimately, however, Randidly soon emerged from the honeycomb-like caves into a deeper, wider thoroughfare. It was still dim here, but only dim; embedded in the walls and ground were luminous Fates.

These, unlike the Fates that had been piled against the walls, were mostly formed as objects. A pair of ivory wings fluttered out from behind a low stone in which they were lodged. There was a humming ax stuck into the dark stone wall on Randidly’s left. Directly in front of him on the rutted stone ground were seven crystal balls the size of the fist. Small jumps of electricity periodically flicked out from one to another nearby.

Randidly spun slowly around. The main portion of the tunnel stretched forward into the darkness, dimly lit by other Fates that had become trapped down here like candles leading him forward. But Randidly also noticed the presence of small side alcoves. Most interestingly, each one of the alcoves was emitting a bright light.

“We don’t have much to do down here, so we do separate the Fates worth keeping and tidy up small rooms for them.”

With annoying slowness due to the heavy liquid around him, Randidly spun and saw Nadia standing there.

She smiled at him, almost shyly. “Truly impressive that you can manage to move as an image down here. Yet… how long will you hold up underneath the pressure? I cannot help but wonder.”

Randidly didn’t even twitch, staring at her with a rather tired determination. After all, it wasn’t like he hadn’t dealt with sadistic teasing rather constantly since the System had arrived and whisked him away from his normal life. And that was even the main body. For the Grim Chimera, anything less than an active attempt to kill him was pleasant. And even though Nadia had been rather upfront about the fact she hoped the Fate she would give him would devour him, the Grim Chimera didn’t take it personally.

That was just the way the world worked. People died and became food for the next cycle of people seeking to run from death. There was no reason to get worked up about it.

Nadia chuckled when he didn’t respond to her prodding. “Fine, fine, you’re no fun. But I suppose it is that iron in your spine that lets you handle the liquid Aether. Anyway, my daughter’s Fate is right through there, in that alcove. I won’t force you to take it, but believe me, it is the most powerful Fate in this place. If you want power… that is the path forward.”

You can be afraid most of the time, but if you claim to be alive you cannot be afraid all of the time.

I want that power. I need that Path forward. Randidly showed his teeth to Nadia’s amused expression even while another part of himself was shaking his head at the Grim Chimera’s aggressive choice.

This isn’t a matter of fear at all. There’s no need to use Vualla’s words to justify this decision. In fact, doing so is exactly what someone seized by fear would do…

Those words gave Randidly pause, but ultimately it didn’t change his decision. With that typical moving through liquid Aether slowness, he walked past Nadia into that small alcove.

Immediately, the light changed. From an airy, ambient blue Randidly stepped through the threshold and found himself inside of a harsh, red furnace. The ground was hot and volcanic, with thin cracks in the ground showing the lava bubbling below the cracked stone.

But for Randidly, the entrance into the room was quite the relief; suddenly it seemed like the pressure from the liquid Aether was gone as this Fate warped the surrounding area to suit its image. Which certainly made Nadia’s claim that this Fate was extremely powerful much more credible. But really, Randidly suspected he wouldn’t have the capability of determining if it was truly the most powerful.

It’s enough that it can stand up against liquid Aether.

In the center of the room there was a pillar of fire running from floor to ceiling. The heat flowed upward in a spiral, submerging the dark-colored Fate in its red light. Yet the Fate itself was a plain slate grey. Perhaps in an even more mundane choice, it was a blade. Randidly took several steps forward and examined the Fate more closely, but it truly was just the blade of a sword.

It was about a meter long and as thick as Randidly’s forearm. It spun slowly in the fire pillar, revealing the exceedingly sharp edges of the blade. But although the top ended in a point, the bottom ended in a flat bluntness that was so sharply separated it gleamed.

“Like your right arm, our daughter’s Fate came as simply a weapon when she condensed it. It did start with some rather ugly crystallization on the attachment point, but as she grew, she refined that away. She was… a genius.”

Randidly twisted sideways and found himself looking at the form of Kailm, crossing his arms and looking up at the naked blade with raw longing. His mouth was slightly opened, as though he wanted to say more but no words he could come up with were enough to explain what he was feeling.

After all, words couldn’t truly make Randidly understand. It was only after seeing Kailm look on this blade and seeing its light reflected in his eyes that Randidly understood how extinguished this man was now.