Chapter 1333 (2/2)

“Still… Nether is strong,” Randidly said lightly as he shook his head and stood. It was somewhat baffling to admit after he had spent so much time working and refining his images to reach the current point, but after experiencing the suppressive influence that he could release with Nether, he didn’t think his Aether Skills could rival his Nether ones.

Maybe… I’m just better at Nether than Aether…? Or perhaps its a side-effect of being connected to Neveah, who is such a natural at utilizing Aether? She has several advantages when it comes to Aether and therefore I have been naturally been pushed toward the reciprocal, innately understanding Nether? To achieve some sort of balance?

The thought made Randidly frown. He had never thought too deeply about what his Soulbound connection to Neveah meant, aside from the benefits they derived from it. Because the benefits that Randidly obtained were significant. Perhaps he would need to spend some time investigating the nature of the connection between them in the future.

But thinking of Neveah and wanting to try and test the limits of his Nether power, Randidly sent her a quick message asking what she was doing. Almost immediately, she replied that she had returned to Yystrix’s grave and was studying the Engravings that had been left there. Implied in her message was that she shouldn’t be disturbed unless it was extremely important.

Rolling his eyes at his obsessed partner, Randidly took another look at the area and eyed it speculatively. He hadn’t detected anything in the actual sight of his Nether power that had inspired him, but he did get a small amount of details from looking at the destruction that he had caused with Nether.

The singed ground, the destroyed foliage, the deserted area, the swirling winds… it all remained as a testament to the fact that something had occurred here, at this location. This place would be marked by Randidly’s experiment for quite some time.

And that sense of being a catalyst for change, whether for good or for ill, was something that Ignition Essence could use. Because the image of the Ignition Essence was definitely designed to be potent. Randidly was in the middle of memorizing the traits of the surrounding area when he received a message from a sender that he really didn’t expect to reach out to him.

Can we meet? There is something that I would like to say before I depart.

Twisting his mouth, Randidly glanced up toward the sun; it was probably only 9 A.M. There was still plenty of time left in the day. And considering the sender, he didn’t believe that a meeting between them would take long…

Shrugging, Randidly replied with the affirmative and gave her a location for the meeting. Then he proceeded to return to his island and float back toward Kharon. When he arrived, he quickly hopped down onto Kharon proper and lost himself in the tight streets of the industrial district. At this point, most everyone was up and recovering from the Eidolon Crucible, so even Randidly Ghosthound was able to produce some common leather clothes and blend in with the crowd of workers trudging to their job.

One the way, his nose did detect several whiffs of the soap scent, the Ghosthound, but Randidly did his best not to think too deeply about that.

Eventually, he arrived at the edges of the industrial loading docks. Huge metal latticeworks and cranes towered overhead, like some sort of forgotten monument or a model of a city's inner bones. This area had been built with the impression it would handle the transportation of metals and raw materials in and out of Kharon, but the rise of the floating platforms saw this location become basically obsolete. So although the industrial district continued to hum with productivity, this location had very little foot traffic.

When Randidly hopped lightly up from steel beam to steel beam to ascend to the top, he saw that Alta Bounty was already waiting at their agreed-upon meeting spot.

Randidly landed lightly on a beam opposite Alta’s position, with five meters of open space between them. They were at the peak of the framework, the only thing higher being Kharon’s flag fluttering weakly in the morning air. Seeing her tight expression, Randidly tilted his head to the side. “I was… surprised that you wanted to meet. Even though you became part of the Pantheon in the Alpha Cosmos, I figured our relationship was… soured by what happened in the past.”

“It was. You made so many terrible mistakes. You let everything I loved die right in front of me.” Alta whispered. With a slowness that demonstrated remarkable control, Alta pivoted to look at him. “You had the ability to have such a positive effect on the world… I could feel your power… but you didn’t. And I hated you for it.”

Congratulations! Your Skill the Lantern of Harsh Truths (R) has grown to Level 142!

Randidly remained silent, watching Alta’s face further and further into a murderous grimace. Her current image form was of the young and lovely woman that she once was before the image of ash she borrowed from Randidly corrupted her, but with every second Randidly could see the monster that Alta Bounty had eventually become taking over. The image of destruction and cleansing fire stirred around her. Randidly could help but notice the metal beneath her feet was slowly beginning to show signs of rusting.

Congratulations! Your Skill the Lantern of Harsh Truths (R) has grown to Level 143!

“...but I now see that I was childish in my outlook,” The twisted face of crazed murderer stopped its vicious transformation. And then her expression slowly relaxed back to her normal appearance. Alta made an effort to try and smile, but her face still looked forced and stiff. “You weren’t perfect, but now that I am working in a semi-deific capacity… I get it. You cannot help everyone. That person will only be aware of their relationship with you and how it is disappointing, but you as the deity interact with such a wide area… so I get it. I really am sorry for the way I behaved.”

Alta’s gaze meandered down to the metal on which she stood. Her dangerous image had largely dispersed, so the slow corrosion of the steel beam had stopped. And Randidly opened his mouth to accept Alta’s apology, but something stopped him. On his right wrist, the woven rope of the Dreamcatcher of the Long Night tightened.

And because that brought Randidly up short, he could sense the small differences in the steady way his Nether swirled in his Nebula. ...is this a moment of import? Or it could be? Something that will be recorded in the Dreamcatcher of the Long Night…?

Since it is related to Nether, it is intimately related to connection. After today’s experiment… it seems like I’ve really underestimated the uses of Nether. The Fatepiece activating now might mean… this is likely a chance to connect with Alta.

But… what sort of thing should I say to connect with her…?