Chapter 1161 (1/2)

After Randidly spent a surprisingly mild two hours talking to an increasingly enthusiastic Salazar, he returned to his tent and was rather surprised to notice how good his mood was. Even if time could have been more efficiently spent than listening to the obvious tall-tales that Salazar told about himself, Randidly couldn’t have found a better way to decompress.

Randidly had serious doubts about the veracity of what Salazar was saying, but that really didn’t matter. Randidly wasn’t there to make sure that the snake-man was honest. He was just there to listen because no one had acknowledged his subordinate in weeks.

It was an act of kindness and responsibility. And honestly… Randidly was surprised by how satisfying it felt.

When he set aside his own patience, what was left was a calm willingness to put in the work he had to accomplish. He was a leader. His subordinates were part of his responsibility. Focusing too much on his personal struggles might seem like the best option for the short term, but it also left Randidly to be tense and wear blinders on his head.

Which was great for accomplishing targeted goals, but bad for the big picture. And his ambitious plans for his Fate were definitely more big-picture than they were a specific goal. Relaxing his foot on the throttle and allowing some time to gather perspective was what he needed.

Just like in all other things, Nether isn’t so concrete that I can force it into shape. Randidly thought as he looked down at the scuffed metal of his left arm. I think about the shape and then release my hold so it can pursue the Path laid out by my faith.

Not all mediums I work with can be metal.

Of course, after a break came work.

The first thing Randidly did upon returning to his tent was practice with Nether Rituals. One point that Randidly realized after his mind had the chance to catch up with his busy body was that he didn’t need to spend the huge chunk of PP he would receive immediately. Which was an extremely frustrating prospect, but one that made sense.

It was just that he wouldn’t want to wait around to finish off his Paths. Specifically, those relating to Yggdrasil. Randidly wasn’t above using some inspiration from the System to help shape how he made his images.

For better or worse, Randidly didn’t gain any Skill Levels while he refamiliarized himself with Nether Rituals. After that, he returned once more to the steady inscribing of the Akashic Record upon the vast trunk of Yggdrasil. This time he did gain another Skill Level in Visualization, bringing the number of PP until the Soulskill activated to one.

For most of the night, Randidly worked his mental fingers tirelessly to create the shapes he’d slowly imagined as he drew his glowing fingers across the deep brown bark. Although it was mostly fancy, he ascribed meaning to each shape. The brave shape. The insidious shape. The fickle shape. The stubborn shape. The lines curved and cut sharply, creating an entire pantheon of shapes for the extended narrative that stretched behind him in his steady journey across the branches.

One fingertip at a time, filling a moment in the real world that stretched to fill an eternity. When he was tired, he looked up at the rustling emerald canopy of Yggdrasil and cracked his fingers. Then he continued to work.

When he was tired of something, Randidly switched up the shapes. When he wanted to mix different shapes together, he did that too. Perhaps like Nether, his movements were mostly driven by faith and instinct. Even though Randidly had a very high opinion of his own abilities, he couldn’t create this all on his own. The larger the role time and chance had on the outcome, the better.

Despite himself, Randidly felt echoes of Salazar’s cadence of speech creep into his shapes in a way that difficult to describe. Without the stutter, but possessing the same sort of epic arrangement that made the mundanities of Salazar’s life sound historic.

Storytelling was not really one of Randidly’s strength. But that is what this record was. The grand story of everything. So he used what tools he had available to him to add that extra specificity.

Almost the entire night was spent this way. It was only from Absolute Timing’s gentle brush that Randidly realized how much time had passed. As the light of day filtered in from outside, Randidly pushed outside the tent and looked up toward the mass of blue veins that drifted about like the careless tendrils of a jellyfish.

The real world reasserted itself. They were days away from the largest confrontation with Nether of the era. The Nether forces were poised above them. Randidly’s goal had a looming endpoint. If he couldn’t finish before the Nether arrived...

Zauna looked up sharply when he left the tent and straightened to bow as Randidly studied the sky.

Nodding toward her, Randidly said, “Any orders from above? Or movements from the Nether?”

“None,” Zauna answered quietly.

Randidly scratched his chin. He didn’t forget what Ileot had said about the Nether Prince being close to being cracked open. And Randidly didn’t truly believe that this sudden lack of assaults was a coincidence.

Although they hadn’t heard anything from headquarters, Randidly was willing to bet that the Aether forces had received another demand from the Nether forces. This was the calm before the storm as Lord Miln bought time as he opened up the Nether Prince. And as soon as the Nether King sensed that the Prince had been destroyed, the hammer would come down on the Aether forces.

If only I could figure out why Lord Miln was so confident. Randidly chewed his lip. Some part of it is likely due to Ileot’s presence… but duplicating Vualla was Ileot’s plan. What did Lord Miln get out of all of it…? Was it just Ileot’s strength…?

Even though he felt like he was missing something, Randidly forced himself to let it go. After all, his primary concern was getting stronger before the hammer fell. Everything else could wait.

“And Salazar? Where has he wandered off to?” Randidly finally asked.

Zauna shrugged. “...he thought he would go for a jog for a change of pace…”