Chapter 1171 (2/2)

The worst part was that her parents didn’t blame Illym. They mourned Radiance, of course, but at least now they had one daughter who was completely healthy and present in their lives. They helped her get involved in the Nexus, fighting against rebels and against the Nether. Without missing a beat, Illym picked up on the family business of killing.

Like a train that had long been in the station, time began to move in their family home.

But although her soul was whole, Illym’s heart was broken.

Perhaps it wouldn’t have been such a shock if she wasn’t so good at killing. Her images grew more and more vicious, and everyone she met complimented her on her bloodthirst.

As she sightlessly reaped the lives that she was ordered to take, Illym was drowning in the evil truth about herself; she should have been the one to die.

Then, the final memory. Taking her own life with her own twisted Fate, the blade that made her bleed just as much as it did her enemies.

It was a simple affair. Illym called for a short vacation and returned back to her parent’s estate. She locked herself in her childhood bedroom and buried her head in silken sheets. Then she cried for what felt like an hour.

Her hands were trembling as Illym heaved herself to her feet. She manifested her Fate and set it on the ground, point upward. Then she gripped the blade with her hands and slowly lowered herself so the tip cut into her chest right in the middle of the diaphragm.

Illym let go and fell forward onto the blade, still crying.

Randidly opened his eyes. A tremor ran through him and a tear traced a slow path down his cheek. After licking his lips, he spoke to the warmed air of his tent’s interior. “I’m sorry.”

The bundle of power and meaning that was the Fate was held together by a thread now, tied into a bow. And that bow replied to Randidly with words edged in raw grief. Even at the end, even as I killed her… all she did was think of me.

“Because she loved you just as much as you loved her,” Randidly replied quietly.

The bow seemed to wilt and wither like a vine in winter. I know that. But this isn’t about how we felt; it was always about what was right.I was an affliction that eventually killed my sister. That is the burden you take upon yourself by accepting this heat. Your crimes will haunt you for as long as you live. You will carry the knowledge that the world will never reward those who deserve it. And no amount of power will allow you to protect the truly beautiful things in this world from the monsters.

“...I think it is a mistake of pride to think that we deserve any of the good things that we’ve received in life,” Randidly said. “We earn the future we are heading toward, sure, but it is a mistake to think that means our crimes damn us. The blood on our hands-”

The blood on our hands means I hope we will be consumed by fire and never re-enter the cycle of reincarnation. Bear this burden well, Randidly Ghosthound. The voice of Illym whispered insistently. I have warned you. You will regret it. The pursuit of power will only earn you grief.

The bow around the wild power slowly came unwound. Heat exploded outward, flooding through Randidly’s body. The terrible fire that Illym had forged into a blade to fight and kill spread through Randidly, searing his other images with its ancient intensity. Within a split second, Ignition Essence surged to double its normal height and began to devour all that power that was running rampant in Randidly’s body.

Luckily, his Stats and Skills made it so that his body was not fragile at all. He could calmly endure the heat while his image attempted to cope. Which was for the best, because the entire time Randidly was furiously studying the power and potency that Ignition Essence was devouring for a hidden blade that might injure himself.

Yet after going over the dense mass of images several times, Randidly could only conclude that the threat he was looking for wasn’t present. Illym’s self-hatred and guilt were weights that would be worked into Randidly’s images, but it appeared that the act of taking her own life had largely satisfied them.

The only problem that Randidly could see was how much self-harm the images incorporated, but he believed it would be largely negated by his ridiculous Stats. No matter how much damage the new Ignition Essence would inflict, Randidly could recover through it.

Randidly focused on the time once more, to see that he still had four hours and five minutes remaining. Experiencing the hitless blade’s memories had been a relatively quick experience. There was still time to prepare.

While Ignition Essence continued to digest the energy of the Fate floating in his chest, Randidly’s attention turned elsewhere.

Yggdrasil, now a complete Skillset, bearing the legacy of Chulroon and his pursuit of justice for how his world was treated.

Ignition Essence, bearing the heat and self-harm and terrible awareness of the hiltless blade, burning cleanly.

The Grim Chimera, carrying in its chest a terrible grudge and seeds of Nether, preparing to have its revenge.

The three legs of Randidly’s Fate were slowly coming into readiness. Now he just needed to perform the action.