Chapter 1125 (1/2)

Of course, the first real order of business for Randidly Ghosthound was a nap. In more ways than he could count, he was drained to the limits of his endurance. So a long nap, one that finally allowed Randidly’s physical body to rest and settle back toward equilibrium.

Because he had not been able to take even a second break while he was locked within the pod, resisting the steadily learning Aether constructs. If he had… he likely wouldn’t have been able to escape so easily from the bindings.

So Randidly laid down next to Vualla and slept, letting his internal merge and settle.

At his core, he was still Randidly even after his images had been allowed to grow independently of him; they still were born of the same shared history. Randidly was still the boy who had sat alone on his bed while he listened to his mother’s drunken laughter in the other room. He was still the boy who followed Sydney across state lines, only to surrender her to his new best friend… and then he was the same young man that kept Sydney’s illness a secret despite the fact it created a rift between him and Ace.

He was still the same man who learned from Shal’s knee and then returned to Earth to plant the seeds that would become Donnyton. He was still the one who lost his temper and hurt Tessa, his ex-girlfriend.

He was still the one that returned to Tellus twice, once to fight for Shal’s honor and the second time to fight for the Fate of the planet. And he had won both times. Not alone, but he had rapidly grown to the point that he could affect the outcome of the contests. Hell, from the way Shal talked before he went through the portal to Nexus’ trial, it was only due to Randidly shifting Shal’s perspective that this outcome became possible.

Randidly was still the same man who, with a growing sense of responsibility and the weight of his prior Soulskill’s collapse on his conscious, returned to Earth and analyzed Donnyton’s characteristics. He found them wanting. So he destroyed their confidence and cast Donnyton aside, switching to the Order Ducis as the main vehicle for the influence he wanted to have on Earth.

He was the man who created Kharon, the moving city. He was the one who would guard the Earth from themselves, creating an influence that would stand apart from the established practices. He was the blade that hung above the Orders, watching for the inevitable slide toward the abuse of power.

Very few of Randidly’s actions earned him goodwill from the people he left behind. But he felt relatively confident in his choices on Earth. There was a reason for all this, and that was the terrible existence of the Nexus that hung over all their heads. Because they prodded Earth toward a doom, Randidly had no choice but to grow callous in order to prepare to buckle the yoke thrust upon them.

But he was also the man who had killed Ki-Kunot because he was distracted and sure of himself. And that continued to temper his outlook.

That was the man who Randidly Ghosthound was, slowly being woven back together from the three core images that formed him. That history had set them on a path, and now they returned, having had the opportunity to follow that path on their own.

From Yggdrasil, Randidly earned the trait of kindness in the broadest sense; kind in the way nature was kind that if you weren’t tragically unlucky, you could make a life in the wild. Also from the World Tree, Randidly learned about steady growth and progress. He learned about the importance of a strong base that could support a world. Because of Yggdrasil, Randidly had an endless desire to live.

From Ignition Essence, Randidly earned his faith in the impossible. Although he sometimes didn’t know how some goal would be accomplished, the Ignition Essence was the endless nuclear reactor that powered Randidly’s drive forward. He also learned how danger and beauty could walk together as one from the fickle and aggressive image.

The newest arrival, the Grim Chimera, brought with it less new personality traits but more accurately license to finally unleash parts of himself that Randidly had long buried in his heart. His natural aggression, buried by a childhood alone and the fixation that he had for Sydney. Defiance, buried inward as Randidly’s childhood logic steered him away toward rebellion and toward slow sedition.

But the Grim Chimera was not a patient creature, not when it didn’t need to be. And perhaps that was the greatest strength that the Grim Chimera brought: an absolute certainty in his own judgment. Self-confidence earned from a life of surviving. Or in Randidly’s case, years of struggling not to be turned into a tool or killed.

These personality traits were like wide bands of colors, slotting together to form Randidly. In his dreaming state, Randidly watched the idly was they wrapped closely together, lively eels of energy that wove themselves through his Skills and Class.

Forest green and gold from Yggdrasil. Emerald and scarlet from Ignition Essence. Grey, black, and a dark purple that looked like the sky at dusk from the Grim Chimera.

And when the colors finished weaving themselves together, Randidly’s eyes snapped open to see the bland canvas of the tent on the frontlines.

Once more, he was whole. He sat upward and brought his not metallic hand to his face, closing his eyes for a brief second with the fingertips of his pointer finger and ring finger. In a way that hadn’t been true before, he was finally recovered from the ordeal. Everything inside of him finally settled back to its full recuperated state.

...now we just need to hope that Lady Iellaya was right about Lord Miln taking it easy for a while, Randidly thought idly. Then he glanced at Vualla and couldn’t stop the small smile from creeping across his face. Shaking his head, Randidly stood and stretched.

“God, it feels fucking good to have a body again. A body that can move,” Randidly muttered. Then his eyes widened abruptly. “Does that also mean that once more…?!?!”

Randidly checked his Skill. Absolute timing told him he had been asleep for a little less than six hours.1

Congratulations! Your Skill Absolute Timing (Ru) has grown to Level 101!

Grinning viciously, Randidly walked out of the tent and put his hands on his hips. Knowing exactly about the passage of time couldn’t be underestimated. Especially considering the fact that they were on an active battlefield…