Chapter 1370 (2/2)
“We both know it is not because of that,” The Winged Serpent shook its head. It hadn’t noticed it at first, but Thea Glasshammer’s image had a critical weakness. It had appeared so dominant… because it was desperate. It was an image without a strong foundation. “No, the reason that I doubt you is because you chose to become a Nemesis in a moment of strong emotions. Afterward, I believe someone bound you more tightly to the cause… but those bindings have been fading recently, have they not? Did you think you could hide your flagging resolve?”
This time Thea was smart enough not to conjure her image. But her gaze was cutting as she stared at the Winged Serpent. “I will never stop searching for vengeance for how Chrysanthemum died. What happened to her-”
“And that is the second reason I do not trust you. You are broken, Thea Glasshammer, although you have not yet realized it.” The Winged Serpent looked at Thea with pity in its gaze. It had believed she would soon lead the Nemesai, but as her image had grown… it was impossible to miss how hollow it was at its core. “You cannot have missed the way that your bear reacted to Randidly Ghosthound. Because we did not. And to know that your Soulbound companion is dead to you but responds to another… how can you not be shaken by that?”
Thea went pale. Her mouth moved, but no sounds came out.
Seeing that she was frozen, the Winged Serpent continued. “Your motivation of revenge is derived from Chrysanthemum’s death… but there seems to be more at play than that. Even if you won’t admit it to us… you know it is true. That is why I don’t trust you. When it comes down to it, you will follow your image. So it is better that we fold now to the Ghosthound before it’s too late.”
The Winged Serpent turned away for the third time and left the meeting room. Thea made no move to stop it.
*****
For a few minutes after Randidly received the notifications, he was slightly worried about the six-hour time limit. Not that he had any intention of seeking out a Village Spirit to rebuild some limit of the System, especially because of the control that the Special Investigator had demonstrated over Lyra. Who knows what a Village Spirit could do if he made himself vulnerable in that way. But Randidly did worry that there would be a notification when Randidly was cut off from System Aether if there wasn’t one already.
So Randidly sent out a few messages. The first was to Alana and Tatiana, telling them to be ready any time to strike. Alana to finish off the last Danger Zone and Tatiana to organize the forces that had been assembled to head into the Epic Danger Zone.
To that end, Randidly rather immediately sent a second pair of messages out. The first was to Helen, giving her the power to lead the expedition into the Epic Danger Zone as soon as it opened. The second was a reply to Heiffal, telling him that he and his troops shouldn’t become involved in this challenge. Only if the enemy came for Kharon should they mobilize, and then they should act as much as possible to protect the city.
The final message Randidly sent was to Octavius Shrike. He kept his language as ambiguous as possible, but asked whether there had been any sort of… warnings based on Randidly’s behavior. Then he politely asked for a heads up if anything happened.
Only afterward did Randidly release a breath and rub the back of his head. “It’s really hard to be in charge. Every decision flows through you…”
Shaking his head, Randidly looked at his Path screen at the newly arrived Deathwish I Path. The corners of his mouth quirked upward. When he had seen it, the Path he had immediately remembered was the Heretic Path. Randidly wondered whether continually engaging in actions that would be considered suicidal would cause the Path to grow.
And then what. When I eventually reach Deathwish X, will the Nexus send a specialist to gather all my friends and family and stage an intervention for my health…? Randidly chuckled. To convince me to stop engaging in such reckless behaviors?
Still, if he was only sure of six more hours of peace, he couldn’t hesitate any longer. It was time to push his training as much as he could in the remaining time.
With a flick of the wrist, Randidly produced his Dreamcatcher of the Long Night. Not wanting to burn himself out on fighting against Kaan Swacc, Randidly chose to head back to that strange moment of Illym before her death. As the surroundings blurred in front of Randidly’s eyes, he soon found himself standing across from Illym in her bedroom. The familiar point of Illym’s sword was about to pierce through her chest and end her own life.
While Illym was still dazed with the shock of Randidly’s appearance, Randidly exploded with the power of images. Perhaps Neveah’s suspicions were correct because as his Willpower flooded through his body, each image felt that much more concrete and powerful than before.
Congratulations! Your Skill Visualization (R) has grown to Level 276!
The Grim Chimera raised its head toward the sky and roared. Nether and blood mixed freely in Randidly’s body, pushing his existence toward being more strange and incomprehensible.
Yggdrasil’s golden light blasted outward from Randidly. His veins became the golden roots, his emerald eyes the gleaming and vital leaves. His body practically gushed life essence into the surrounding space with each breath.
On the other side, the chilling aura of the Stillborn Phoenix swirled around Randidly like a familiar cloak. It was wrath and hunger and obsession, filling Randidly’s body with purpose. The energy that Yggdrasil produced was almost completely devoured by the Stillborn Phoenix once it had run its course, forming a strange, almost parasitic relationship.
But the three images worked in concert, transforming Randidly completely. And binding them all together, Randidly’s heartbeat with exacting precision.
Perhaps the effect of using all three images at once was more shocking than what Randidly had expected, because for the first time ever, Illym spoke at the beginning of their fight. “You… What-”
Randidly didn’t give her a chance to say anything more; he simply attacked.