Chapter 1181 (1/2)

Randidly’s Grim Intuition was ominously pulsing during the entire journey to find Vualla amongst the numerous forces on the frontlines. Not the least of which was because there was suddenly a whole slew of reinforcements on the Aether side that made it extremely difficult to locate her. Too much unfamiliar Aether, and for whatever reason he kept confusing some of the new arrivals for Vualla. But the difficulty was probably also because more and more powerful Nether Beasts were descending from the sky and marching toward their fortifications.

They fell like asteroids, crashing into the ground and then throwing themselves forward to kill the beings of Aether. The visual distortions in the area grew increasingly frantic as Nether polluted the space and destabilized it. Forces assembled and began charging toward the front of the Aether lines.

Randidly could sense the edge of in this moment, the eternal conflict between the two energies. Like two lovers jaded by distance and betrayal, they wanted nothing more than to rip each other to shreds no matter the cost to themselves. Although Randidly could align his own Aether and Nether, it was such a small thing before the whole of history.

And this was a history of bloodshed. The rapidly assembling Nether sung with the memory of it. The Aether crafted weapons of substance and image to make sure it was ever to be so. Both were committed to ending each other.

It was funny, but this was exactly the scenario that Randidly had feared with his new Stat Grim Intuition, where there was simply so much information flooding in that it was difficult for him to process it. Thankfully, his Stats had been largely boosted as he had spent his PP, or it would be difficult to continue while being bombarded with so many signals.

As it was, Randidly pushed all that superfluous information away. He only followed the heat in his chest, leading him unerringly to Vualla.

When he landed, she was standing there with her azure hair being blown by the wind, staring up at the Great Rift above them. She wore her armor and gauntlets, her skin path against the darkness of the Great Rift above them. Weirdly, Randidly felt a whiff of a familiar image for a few fleeting seconds, before it vanished.

Perhaps Randidly would not even have noticed the feeling had not its sudden disappearance coincided with a wide smile blooming across Vualla’s face. It gave him pause, as he struggled to place why that feeling was so familiar.

Then Vualla turned and looked at Randidly with that smile, and all of those thoughts melted away like the last snow of spring.

I could have bought us more time. Randidly thought furiously. I could have taken a safer path. But I gambled. Not because I refuse to consider it… but because I couldn’t trust Ileot Swacc.

Yet that was something that Randidly would never say to Vualla. She would understand if he explained himself. She would probably agree completely with the decision that he had made. And it was exactly for that reason that Randidly could never tell her.

So without talking, Randidly practically ran up to Vualla and put his arms around her. He spun her around and then kissed her once, lightly, on the lips.

At that moment, he established an Aether connection, careful to restrict the flow and watch the effect that a small thread of his Aether would have on Vualla’s being. Even without the Philosopher's Key, his senses were now sharp enough that he could see the incubator of Aether that surrounded Vualla. At least in that respect, Ileot hadn’t lied.

What was the most worrying was how thin the incubator had grown. Randidly could generally feel how worn the mechanisms had become, although he had no idea what that meant. So he continued to press Vualla to him, watching as that thread of Aether wandered forward.

The Aether brushed against Vualla. And… nothing happened.

“...ahem, Vualla, I think that it’s quite appropriate to at least introduce us before you subject me to such a hideous display, don’t you think?”

Randidly pulled back in shock and blinked at the man with light blue hair who had been standing next to Vualla. He had been so intent on checking to make sure she was okay in the wake of Ileot’s words that Randidly hadn’t even been paying attention to the surroundings. Everything else but her was pushed to the side.

Vualla blushed deeply and offered Randidly a guilty smile before turning to the man. “Ah… well, it’s a battlefield. We are about to go to war. Getting caught up in a passionate moment is normal…”

The man continued to glare at Randidly like he was a bug that he had found crawling across his kitchen counter. “...so that was his passion that he was sticking into your mouth?”

“We didn’t use tongue!” Vualla snapped. Then she stamped her foot and huffed. “Okay, okay. Eliot, this is Randidly Ghosthound. He’s… well-”

“I’ve already witnessed,” Eliot said icily. He folded his arms across his chest.

“-and Randidly, this is Eliot. My brother.” Vualla shrugged her shoulders helplessly. “Like all brothers, he’s someone who shoves his nose into places where it doesn’t belong.”