Chapter 1341 (2/2)

That thought caused Randidly to feel a deep ache in his chest. But he ultimately had to set the pain aside. Compared to the bewildering loss that Randidly had felt in Yystrix’s tomb, he could manage this small disappointment. Speaking of surprise absences from my birthday. This next meeting…

This meeting Tatiana hadn’t bothered to give a location for, and Randidly understood why. He slowly walked across his island to the far side and found Lyra standing with her hands folded behind her back as she looked toward the approaching horizon. She didn’t react at all to his presence, even when he was standing next to her perfectly mimicking her posture.

So Randidly looked forward with her. In front of them was a rather sparse forest and above that a veritable shield wall of anvil-like, grey-black clouds. Bright bolts of lightning snaked occasionally across the wall of the storm. Kharon trooped dutifully forward, unafraid of the thunder and rain that might crash down over it, drenching the pathetic humans that sat on its back.

But as Randidly looked forward, he felt something shift in his chest. Even now, even with all his power, looking at the entire horizon filled with ominous clouds, Randidly felt small. Like no matter how much individual power he possessed, the wonder and magic of the natural world was still just a little bit beyond him.

That thing in his chest continued to shift. Nether spun slowly. That’s why, no matter what the Alpha Cosmos is, I’ll always just be a King; I am not a god…

Randidly glanced sideways at Lyra. She was, impossibly, even more lovely than the last time that he had seen her. Her face seemed to have widened and her cheekbones seemed even more stark, but in a way that accentuated her mouth. The sharpness of her nose and chin had mellowed somewhat as she had finally aged into place around her wide, expressive eyes. If Randidly was counting correctly, Lyra was almost twenty now. Although he had no idea how natural her growth currently was, now that she had taken over the existence of a Village Spirit.

Eventually, Randidly released a breath and turned to look at Lyra. He had way too much to do to just wait for her to speak. “What did you want to talk about, Lyra?”

“Apologies. I appear to have lost track of time, looking forward.” Lyra’s mouth twisted. “Sometimes when you step through certain thresholds, what you find on the other side isn’t what you expected.

“But I am here to speak of two things,” She spoke with the same charming voice, as though she hadn’t stood silently beside him for several minutes. Randidly ultimately decided not to question her first statement. It was clear she was now quite focused on her two subjects. She pivoted on her heel and smiled that same playful smile at him. But then she bowed sharply at the waist. “First… I’m sorry.”

Randidly blinked. “Huh…?”

Lyra stayed down there, bent over at a 90-degree angle as she spoke. Her neck was straight and her face was toward the ground. “In the past I… I tried to be endearing by calling you doggy. I tried to be cool and distant because I was afraid… well, I had seen how you reacted when I was honest about my crush on you; you didn’t respond positively at all. So I thought… I convinced myself that you were making a mistake. That I was the only one who really understood the situation… so the first reason I came was to apologize. There are some days where you just aren’t in control of yourself, you know?

“You were right; I was so young and even though the world was ending, we were nowhere near each other in terms of emotional maturity. With both of our issues, we wouldn’t have ever worked as a couple. And I tried to force it… and then I took that same attitude of thinking you were making a mistake when I met Yystrix and took her side. Her arguments were persuasive. And she was so, so sure that what she was doing was for the best. I… I got caught up in it.”

Slowly, the shock on Randidly’s face transformed into a certain sort of understanding. When it came down to it, Lyra had her own strange relationship with Yystrix. I suppose it shouldn’t come as a shock to me that she grew up after her death, too. Or that she would react rather strangely to the loss…

“I was a child at those times. And I was living with the ghost of that child in the past. I hope… I hope we can start over.” Lyra gradually straightened. The skin around her eyes was red and puffy; without addressing it, she extended a hand toward Randidly and stitched up a smile on her face one line of careful thread at a time. “Hello Mister Randidly Ghosthound, I’m Lyra. I was once a child actor, but now I’ve become a Village Spirit in the System. With your help, I was able to… ground myself with a Class once more, so I’m partially human.”

For two breaths, he didn’t move. But then Randidly reached out and shook her hand slowly. The skin of her palm was cool. “I’m Randidly Ghosthound. I’m preparing to help the Earth pass the Calamities and then escape the influence of the Nexus, any way that I can.”

“And that’s why I’m here.” Lyra’s hand tightened around Randidly’s. “The second reason I come is to share news; Kaan Swacc, the Special Investigator, is already on Earth. He instituted a gag order on all other Village Spirits, largely binding them to be silent for the next week or so. They will be naught but ghosts until this blows over.”

“And you can speak because?” Randidly frowned.

This time when Lyra smiled, some of that old, sharp humor could be seen. “Haven’t I already pointed it out. Because you had the foresight to give me a Class. I am not solely a Village Spirit. And the System has basically no active control over those with a Class.”

Not really true, Randidly thought to himself, but he didn’t interrupt.

After grimacing, Lyra’s violet eyes locked onto Randidly’s emerald ones. “Kaan Swacc isn’t going to wait for the Earth to build up a head of steam. Tomorrow night he plans on making an attack on one of the four task forces heading to clear out the Danger Zones with Corrupted Invaders. He likely won’t kill anyone, but I believe his goal is to shatter the most powerful images of the people involved.”