Chapter 1109 (2/2)

“Three months, maybe…?.” Zauna replied.

“Three months-” Randidly began, but then he froze. He raised his claw and did his best to gently rub at his temples. “...how long has it been since we have last talked?”

“Almost two months,” Zauna confirmed.

For several seconds, Randidly stood still. Then he spun on his heel and marched back to his shed and shut the door behind him. As he sat and tried to remain calm, Randidly tried to remember how much time had passed before he had donated a portion of his image to the image stone. He hadn’t gone out to talk with them after using the Nether Ritual to spy on Mrs. Hamilton, so that could explain several days of the missing time. Maybe even a week.

Then Randidly had spent a smaller amount of time watching Vye before he had gone through her to repair the image stone. Combined, perhaps those Nether RItuals could explain two weeks of time. Which meant that the combination of what he had done for Kharon and the Eidolon Crucible had taken more than a month from him in recovery time. Which was relatively softened by the fact that time moved three times as quickly here surrounded by the dense Aether, but that was still a week in the outside world.

For Yggdrasil, who had been threatened by Lord Miln, a week on the frontlines was a long time.

Even though Randidly had assured himself nothing dangerous would happen to Yggdrasil previously, his inactivity for so long reignited those fears. As Randidly wistfully savored the lack of pain in his hand after recovering from Nether overuse, he prepared a Nether Ritual. Better Nether pain than losing Yggdrasil.

Randidly did notice, however, that the ivory lock was now over halfway corroded. And now that most of the structure was damaged, it was further corrupted much more easily by his Nether energy. Quite soon, Randidly believed he would be able to see what was within the trunk he had carried out of the Fate armory based solely on a feeling.

Then his focus narrowed to the elaborate weaving of Nether that appeared in his hands. The base of anti-energy spiraled calmly together. Feeling strangely inspired, Randidly wove it more tightly than usual, creating a branching root system of Nether that would ground the Nether Ritual. Then he spun the Nether upward in a thick trunk to cover the distance between them. With a smile, Randidly regarded the small omage to the Nether Ritual’s target.

Congratulations! Your Skill Nether RItual (A) has grown to Level 55!

As Randidly’s experience with Nether RItuals grew, he began to be able to pick out individual differences between the energies and sensations of the rituals as he created them. Or rather than the energy, it was the flavor that was different. Even while only making the Ritual, the connection to the target was already partially established. Therefore, bits of their flavor began to manifest.

His experience with reaching through Vye had been extremely illuminating, because rather than his ambiguous grasp toward Vualla, Randidly had attempted to accomplish something very specific when he reached through Vye. So for a few seconds, Randidly had been completely aligned with Vye as he accomplished his goal. During that time, Nether had acted as a conduit to bind the two of them.

It had been strange. Because although he couldn’t sense Vye’s consciousness itself or images, Randidly had swum through Vye’s memories as they were connected by the Ritual.

It was a far different way of sensing another than what Randidly was used to. But Randidly could begin to see how memories were the inverse of image. Or the seed of images. Or the price of images. Which had given Randidly a weird sense of insight toward what actually happened when Aether and Nether met.

Aether and Nether were two sides of a coin. An image came from memories, memories were born from the continual growth of an image. Yet when Aether and Nether typically met each other, there was a sharp dissonance as it became obvious that the Aether and Nether present were from different ‘coins’. The images and memories that formed them were not complimentary.

So Nether denied the image’s memories, while Aether denied the memory’s direction. So both hissed and spat themselves out of existence by denying each other with every bit of their energy.

Which did beg the question: was it then possible to have Aether and Nether in harmony?

For a brief moment, Randidly’s focus turned toward the true Nether core that he now possessed. Perhaps someday.

Then his focus turned back to the Nether Ritual. Very quickly the image of the frontlines resolved before Randidly. He was relatively relieved to see that Yggdrasil was still in Lady Iellaya’s camp, but there were several facts about the picture that Randidly saw that gave him pause.

First, Abiodun was standing next to the hunched over form of Yggdrasil. The two were in a long and dimly lit tent lined with low cots.

Second, even though the Nether Ritual, Randidly could feel the tang of Nether in the air. It wasn’t strong, but it was much stronger than Randidly would have expected, even on the front lines. And the visual effects of the Great Rift meant that the whole tent around them seemed to be buzzing.

Third and finally, shadowy and blood-covered figures lined the costs on the ground in front of Yggdrasil as he bent over them. It was clear from the energies around Yggdrasil’s branches that he was pouring energy into these wounded figures in order to heal them. And the real kicker that all of these people possessed physical bodies and weren’t simply images.

I suppose there is no reason that Yggdrasil can’t heal the images of people with bodies. But if all these people are injured…Things on the front line took a turn for the worst.

When Yggdrasil leaned back from the patient he was tending, Abiodun spoke quietly to him. “Even if you truly can help us recover our fighting strength, there is no time. Lady Iellaya is stalling, but Lord Miln won’t wait forever.”

“I appreciate your candor,” As Yggdrasil spoke, Randidly’s heart broke to hear how weary his voice was. But there was iron in the tree’s spine as he straightened. “Which is why my answer remains the same. Agree to give me over once it is confirmed that the Grim Chimera image has perished. There is no other way.”