Chapter 1173 (2/2)

Lesson for those of Brittle Will

Longing of the Banished Wind

Will each of those influence how the Fate turns out…? Randidly wondered as he looked at the Class as it slowly began to float forward. Although there was ‘space’ of a sort in the inner world, as most of it was just densely bent Aether shapes that recorded the conduits by which Randidly could produce energy. So it was without surprise that Randidly watched his Class ghost up through the pyramid and superimpose itself over the tight ball of Nether that caged the swirling power and meaning. The humming soon turned into resonance.

The three legs continued to dig deeply at the wells of power and meaning that Randidly had prepared; he had quite a bit to mortgage for this Fate, whatever it ended up being. His inner world continued to rumble with the furious churning of energy. The light in the apex seemed to reach the peak and began to dim, darkening until Randidly could see that there was now a slowly tumbling cube of light floating in the bubble.

Energy continued to pour upward. The whole thing began to shake. Randidly stabilized the Aether and wove an increasingly complex network of Nether through the machine to create his Fate. More and more branches snaked outward, springing from some deep insight that Randidly didn’t have the time to dwell on.

Congratulations! Your Skill Aether Manipulation has grown to Level 206!

Congratulations! Your Skill Nether Ritual (A) has grown to Level 116!

Under Randidly’s constant ministrations, the legs of the pyramid began to settle down. Then suddenly, Randidly blinked as he pulled his focus back from addressing problems and saw the whole of what he had made. That’s why it’s getting more balanced. I’m making the Nether look like a vein network. Like this… is a living thing.

And because of that, it’s coming alive.

Congratulations! Your Skill Nether Ritual (A) has grown to Level 117!

Congratulations! Your Skill Nether Ritual (A) has grown to Level 118!

Slowly, the noise shifted from the dangerous rumbling of a machine asked to do more-than-what-it-is-capable-of to the satisfying rumble of an engine falling into a rhythm. Power, light, meaning, images… all of it was ripped upward, drawn into the steady current of the creation. Randidly could feel it now, growing within him, taking over. It was almost like he didn’t even need to constantly brush the edges and help with repairs, the creation of his Fate had become its own beast.

Time rushed forward. Randidly could feel it slipping past his fingers. More and more power swirled upward.

Before Randidly’s eyes, more and more lights burned through his inner world and then slowly dimmed to a shape. The process repeated several times as he lost himself in the cycle. First a cube, but then a rectangle, a sphere, a hoop, a fluttering sheet, and finally a pyramid.

Suddenly, the machine began to hiss as the ambient energy present in Randidly’s inner world finally reached the apex and began to fall; the process was done. Then, in a surge of burning light, violet static electricity arched between the six objects present at the apex.

There was a crack and then all six blasted outward, smashing into the sphere of Nether that he had erected. Almost immediately, cracks raced across the surface and the secondary arrays he had made around the bubble tried to cope with the pressure. Randidly could only watch as five of those glowing shapes shattered the stabilizing arrays and rip out of his inner space. Only one was rebuffed and tumbled back into the shatter bubble at the apex.

The rest vanished to nothing before he could even react to their sudden exodus.

Then the rectangle that remained floated downward toward Randidly’s consciousness. He opened his eyes. His fingers of his right hand tightened around something solid. When he saw the object in his hand, the System notification arrived.

Slowly, the edges of the object in Randidly’s hand turned to dust and fell away, until a relatively plain object cast in rose-gold lay in his palm.

Congratulations! Error, your Class did not undergo a reckoning, but you have successful passed the Reckoning! Error, you Class did not change.

Congratulations! You have condensed your Fate! Warning, due to an unexpected error, multiple pieces of your Fates were condensed! However, they spread out and settled with the individual who most influenced portions of your Class! Warning, Fates will only appear if certain circumstances are met.

Congratulations! You have obtained the Fateset, “Paradox of the Alchemist Lvl 1”.

Paradox of the Alchemist: With tools forged of the Earth’s bones, an alchemist seeks to weave with the fabric of dreams to make this world a better place. Their goals are many and diverse: some seek eternal life and some seek to turn lead into gold. But all wish dearly to transmute beyond the bindings of their mortal coils.

Yet the paradox of the alchemist is eternal. If they are flawed, are not all dreams that they can conceive of made of that same flawed flesh? Can their hands not ultimately only wring more imperfections from the substance of this plane? Without waiting for an answer, they reach for the impossible.

You who would walk this Path, know that the prayer you have is without hope. The cycle of this world is written into grander bedrock that you can comprehend. To it, the substance of you is feeble and transient. To escape such bindings is a fantasy; to fight it would turn your life into a nightmare. Yet none can deny what you have accomplished thus far. So for now… good luck.

Congratulations! You have condensed the first Fateset in the history of the Nexus! Due to unusual circumstances, the pieces of your Fate have been split into six pieces. Currently, only the first piece will be active. When certain criteria are met, the second piece will activate and you can seek it out and obtain its power.

Each piece of your Fateset levels individually. The qualifications for obtaining the next piece of your Fateset will be obtained when you reach a sufficient total Level of the Fateset. The qualification for obtaining your next piece of your Fateset will be obtained at reaching a Level of 100.

Congratulations! You have obtained the first piece of your Fateset, the Philosopher’s Key Lvl 1! The Philosopher’s Key is carved of a powerful catalyst made to transmute the plentiful here into the often craved there. With it, you can unlock doors that don’t exist and bind shut the very sky. By relying on karma, you can bridge the gap between two locations which you are familiar with and open a passage. Although some substances can serve to slow you down, as the key grows more potent, no threshold will serve as a barrier.

In addition, due to possessing the Philosopher’s Key, +3 Intelligence, Wisdom, and Focus per Level of your Class!

With light fingers, Randidly raised the object he was holding up to get a better look at it. Sure enough, it was a golden key that had appeared amidst the disintegrating rectangle. Smooth hoop, long shaft, two blocky teeth sticking down toward the end… it was an old fashioned key. Yet as he felt the key in his hand… it was heavy beyond belief.

His hand trembled with the strain of holding it. Every time he edge of the key moved with those small tremors, Randidly felt the threads of karma catch on the tip, tantalizing him to thrust the key forward with the intent to open up a portal.

Even with that encouragement, Randidly didn’t give in immediately. Instead, he closed his eyes and brought his attention to the feeling of the key. There had been a lot in the notifications from the System, and a lot that Randidly didn’t understand yet. He had poured two Fates and an entire world’s world of potential into this, and it had been split off into so many pieces…

So Randidly calmly focused on the key and tried to sense familiarity within it. One step at a time.

Very quickly, Randidly found it. Both the touch of Yggdrasil and Ignition Essence were present here. From Ignition Essence, Randidly could feel the sudden leap of genius that could connect two very distant points. From Yggdrasil, Randidly felt a strange stability to create a door that could be opened rather permanently.

That made Randidly shiver. A permanent door… if he could connect distant places...

In addition, he found the heavy influence of Chulroon’s Chisel in the construction of such a Fate. So, slightly reassured by the familiar influences, Randidly thrust the key forward into the fabric of the universe with a focused intent. He could clearly feel existence around him shudder as something grand within the key activated itself. It was difficult to turn the key, so difficult that Randidly had to bring his metallic arm over and heave on the flimsy-looking golden hoop at the end. Slowly, the key turned.

A portal opened. Randidly looked calmly through the portal to his favorite vista from the mountain over Donnyton. It was currently raining on Earth. More notifications popped up as he felt the chilly air flow through the portal.

Congratulations! The Level of your Fate the Philosopher's Key has grown to Level 2!

Congratulations! The Level of your Fate the Philosopher's Key has grown to Level 3!

Congratulations! The Level of your Fate the Philosopher's Key has grown to Level 4!

…

…

Congratulations! The Level of your Fate the Philosopher's Key has grown to Level 36!

Congratulations! The Level of your Fate the Philosopher's Key has grown to Level 37!

“I had heard that your Fate will grow quickly if you already possess powerful images but…” Randidly bared his teeth at the portal to Earth that hung in the air in front of him. “This is a good start, no?”