Chapter 1374 (2/2)

“Ah, I see,” Octavius Shrike rubbed his chin. “That is possible. Perhaps they thought the Earth was more important than it actually is, because of how much Aether was around it…”

Randidly let the comment about Earth being unimportant pass without comment. After loudly clicking his teeth together, Octavius turned back to Randidly. “I’ve already contacted the Xyrt Brigade. Their true experts should deploy within forty-eight hours. In the meantime… spread the word on your planet that there might be some… strangeness in the way that the System behaves. Unusual Classes, Paths, or Skills that appear. I would recommend that the people of Earth ignore these deviations, for everyone’s sake.”

That had Randidly’s hackles rising. “Strangeness?”

“The Nether assault is ripping apart the infrastructure of the System and integrating itself into the wreckage. The System will continue to function, but there will be… errors.” Octavius waved a hand at Randidly. “Don't’ look at me like that, it’s just a warning. It’s probably nothing, but… your planet is already under so much scrutiny because of the fact that you were given this special test. And you passed it. I think it will be difficult now to avoid the Nexus Council investigating in more detail once this threat has passed, since the original Vualla still hasn’t returned… and it would be for the best that they found nothing of note when they did.”

“You are suggesting that people could develop Nether related Skills,” Randidly said, eyebrows rising as he considered the possibility. “Especially-”

“Especially when the people of Earth realize that the pressure they sense from Nether is the same pressure they felt from you. They will think it’s natural to gain that sort of strength… so it will be natural for them to reach for it.” Octavius Shrike finished the thought for Randidly.

“Is it still necessary to hide my Nether usage from the Nexus?” Randidly glanced sideways at Octavius. “The Cohorts are built on top of Nether Kings, for god’s sake.”

Octavius Shrike shrugged. “Until you have the protection of someone of power within the Nexus, what does the truth matter? You are too eye-catching, Randidly Ghosthound. Perhaps even worse… strange things keep happening around you. The people of the Nexus do not adapt well to change.”

Randidly grunted but didn’t reply. After saying goodbye to Octavius, he walked up to his portal. But at the last moment, he looked over his shoulder. “So… what happens if the Xyrt Brigade doesn’t make it in time? If this Nether force frees the Nether King under the Seventh Cohort?”

“It has never happened in the past,” Octavius said softly. Pursing his lips, Randidly left Octavius’s office and returned to his floating island.

He released the portal and reached up to ruffle his black hair. This was becoming increasingly problematic. And it did nothing to improve Randidly’s mood when, as soon as he came back and looked upward, he saw another huge hook of azure veins striking the cage of Aether that was keeping the forces of Aether out of Earth.

Another horrible wave of pain spread out across the planet. Luckily, Neveah hadn’t been idle as Randidly went and talked to Octavius. She had spread out Randidly’s Aether to cover the sky, largely muffling the effect that the strike would have on the average person. But Randidly didn’t miss the way that this strike was more powerful than the one he had felt only a half an hour earlier.

Neveah landed next to Randidly. “Looks like the defenses will only hold up for a few more hours. Should I try and reinforce it…?”

After thinking about it for a bit, Randidly shook his head. “From Octavius’ explanation, the forces of Nether don’t actually need to attack the Earth. They just need to get through the defenses so they can access the core construct that connects us to our Cohort. Besides, Octavius advises us to do nothing to attract attention in the meantime. Being too skilled with Aether probably counts as attention-grabbing.”

Neveah snorted. “If you say so. But I doubt things will be that simple.”

“I know. I know.” Randidly sighed. Then he sent out several messages, informing the leaders of the various Zones of the streamlined version of what he had learned from Octavius. Specifically that the darkness in the sky was not an extension of the Corrupted Invaders but in fact a direct attack on the Nexus that the Earth was just an unfortunate casualty of a larger war. He also mentioned that, due to damage to the System, there might be strange Skills and Paths available. But he warned that when the System reestablished itself, there likely would be consequences for people who had taken those deviant options.

Then he sent a message to Heiffal. Despite the fact that Nether forces didn’t need to attack the Earth to accomplish their goals, the Earth would be on its own until reinforcements from the Nexus arrived. Which was a situation that was profoundly uncomfortable for Randidly.

But luckily, Randidly currently had an army that had experience fighting against Nether forces. For a little while at least, the Earth could probably manage.

*****

Sitting in her office, Theodora Greyman studied the message she had just received from the Ghosthound. Humming to herself, she pressed a button on her terminal and spoke into it. “Get me Richter. And a group of a dozen individuals whose loyalty to Zone 1 is unquestioned. It appears we are being warned away from some ‘deviant’ Skills. Let’s make sure we aren’t being scarred away from something extremely advantageous, shall we?”