Chapter 1135 (1/2)

Without giving Randidly much of a time to cope with the obvious relish in Ileot’s voice, Ileot lightly pounded his chest with a fist and gave Randidly a look that was heavy with fake pity. “If I’m being honest… I wish it would not have come to this point. The situation is more complicated than you can imagine… the magnitude of the forces at play here… ah well, I suppose it is the duty of the elders to deal with these things...”

Shaking his head, Ileot took several steps forward to the edge of a ridge. “In fact, my duplications are normally self-sustaining. There is a… core of Aether that I create that guides the duplicated individual and helps me keeps tabs on their actions. In fact… it was the destruction of the core that brought my attention to the status of this experiment and forced me to come directly. I honestly prefer not to be directly involved. Me interacting with the subject... often hurts more than it helps.”

“Core…?” Randidly scratched his chin.

Ileot nodded. “Usually it manifests as an individual around the subject. Someone innocuous. From my investigation, one of Vualla’s subordinates was the core I created. I suspect, since you accompanied them in their trip into the base of Nether Gatekeeper, that you witnessed one of Vualla’s subordinates display a strength that was… incongruous with his standing. That individual was the core.”

Randidly blinked in surprise. Although he had been very busy struggling to stay alive while surrounded by dense Nether at the time, he did recall how one of Vualla’s subordinates had surged with strength enough that he had been able to turn aside the attacks of the Nether Gatekeeper a few times and buy Randidly and Vualla a few precious seconds to flee from there. In addition, that was also the very same subordinate that was constantly badgering Vualla about her choices.

...a real chip off the old block, Randidly reflected sourly as understanding dawned in his gaze toward Ileot. That’s why the subordinate had such strong feelings about Vualla’s actions because he was trying to guide her along the same tracks she went down in her past life. And it was also why Ileot had to show up as Cail afterward, to try and rectify the mistake…

...but yea, I bet directly interacting with the people you’ve duplicated hasn’t helped you much in the past...

Ileot unleashed an exaggerated sigh as he kicked a small pebble off the side of the ridge and watched it tumble down into the deep fissures in the orange ground. “The core acted as a… vessel if you will. One that… ah… protected Vualla from too much of her Aether being lost from friction with the current Aether of this time. Without it, she will soon begin hemorrhaging Aether. It drastically increases the cost of maintaining her in a substantial form. Once the remaining bits of the vessel fall away… my Aether will need to be constantly spent to heal the damage from the friction.”

A frosted gauntlet began to squeeze Randidly’s heart. The sensation of cold tightness was suffocating. He pressed his eyes together. This was exactly what he had been worried to hear.

Not that Vualla would need Aether, because Randidly obviously could provide that. No, what scared Randidly most of all about what Ileot said was that there would be… friction with the current Aether. That it wasn’t something Randidly knew how to address. It wasn’t just a matter of fueling Vualla herself, but of fueling a construction of Aether that could act as her protection against the modern world.

Because if the modern world’s Aether was dangerous to her, it was possible that Randidly’s Aether would be just as dangerous. Establishing an Aether connection hastily might accelerate the process to a dangerous degree.

It might all be a lie, some part of Randidly whispered. But even though that part of Randidly pointed it out, it didn’t want to be the one to suggest testing the theory. Not when Vualla’s life was at stake.

“-of course, she is a creation of mine. All of my work is of an extremely high quality. There likely are several months before signs of strain will show.” When Ileot’s words registered, Randidly opened his eyes and gaped at Ileot. The hairless man favored him with a grin. “I don’t wish to think I’m trying to strong-arm you; there is time for some thought into the issue. Perhaps during that time we can meet as… friends, and discuss less serious matters. Like your childhood, for instance. Just some topics that aren’t so emotionally charged.”

Randidly licked his lips. Then he purposefully ignored the final part of Ileot’s question, both because it was ridiculous and because the casual way that Ileot asked it made the Grim Chimera mentally bare its teeth. “So there is… time. Before something bad would happen to Vualla.”

“Yes of course.” Ileot turned away from the ridge and leaned forward toward Randidly. “And just so we are clear… I will say it directly; I still have a significant portion of the Aether given to me by Lord Miln available. After all, I planned on sustaining this duplication for quite some time once it bloomed to its potential with energy manipulation. It would have been quite a convenient means to turn Aether into a more valuable form… but now I am hesitant to invest more Aether into this project. It remains unclear if it will be successful.”

It didn’t escape Randidly’s notice that Vualla had suddenly become an it.

Heedless of the growing storm in Randidly’s thoughts, Ileot continued to speak. “Therefore, in return for me ignoring my better judgment and providing more Aether to this project so that Vualla can survive for her ‘natural’ lifespan, you will aid me in the ritual that will allow me to duplicate you in the future. Are we clear?”

Just as Randidly opened his mouth to speak, Ileot raised up a hand. “Ah… I realize that may sound confusing. I don’t need any sort of answer right away. In fact, please don’t. We are friends, are we not? We will have many interactions in the future, hahaha.

“Besides…” Ileot’s eyes began to glow and he jerked his thumb toward the looming presence of the Great Rift hanging above the both of them. “There’s still the problem of the war. Heh, with this many enemies swarming down toward us… perhaps you, too, will grow to regret that this duplication of Vualla doesn’t possess any of the original’s hatred. This is the only sort of place where a woman like her can shine, after all.”