Chapter 1378 (1/2)
“Want to stay for dinner?” Alana asked after Randidly had been thinking in silence for several seconds. She gestured toward the cooler next to Hank’s stowed rod. The lid was slightly open, as though Hank had forgotten to close it. “Hank’s been fishing all day-”
“Ah, well. I was… practicin’ jus usin’ the rod…” Hank mumbled. “My harvest… it’s a mite slim for three people…”
Randidly shook his head with a smile on his face. “No, I think I should get back to training. But thank you. You’ve given me a lot to think about-”
The world around them buzzed even through the curtains of rain around them. And then a notification appeared, flickering in and out of being in front of their eyes. Randidly’s emerald eyes narrowed.
Congratulations, people of New Earth! At long last, a Seventh Zone has passed through its Raid Dungeon and arrived. As such, Earth now has- destroyed countless worlds such as yours.
ERROR, SYSTEM-
Warning-
Before the Calamities begin- cleared all the obstacles in front of it! Currently, New Earth is only a step away- This name will be New Earth’s Officially recognized name in the future-
WARNING!
Failure to- please locate the Runic Tablet and choose an official Nexus name for New Earth -from becoming an official world of the Seventh Cohort- an increased chance to develop Skills of a higher Rarity!
The individual who names New Earth will receive- but beware you don’t bite off more than you can chew. The Calamities have- in addition to earning a great deal of prestige!
Good Luck- Warning, space around New Earth is unstable. Some minor discrepancies-a Tier 1 citizenship coin-
Please contact your nearest Village Spirit.
“Goddamnit,” Randidly swore quietly after rereading the message several times to make sense of it. It looked like exploring his ability to house his images inside of his body, and to let that image energy gradually refine his body’s state further, would need to wait until he figured out how this Nether attack had fucked up his world.
More than that… Randidly gritted his teeth. If the Calamities are going to be here soon… I’ll need to start to be more careful with the Order Ducis’ actions. My image can’t be related to the image that the Earth uses to pass the Second Calamity…
*****
Octavius Shrike had arrived early to the meeting, but not early enough, it seemed. Several figures were already seated in crystal chairs when he walked into the gleaming and shining room. A door of obsidian slid soundlessly to the side and gave him entry to the location of the sudden meeting.
Every object and piece of furniture in the Shining Palace was made of crystal. The crystals were unique, however, in that they responded very directly to the Aether of the beings who touched them. So as Octavius looked around, it was very easy to identify the various individuals in this strictly unofficial meeting.
Considering the by-laws of the Nexus Council, the current situation on Earth didn’t absolutely require that the Nexus Council hold an emergency meeting. In the eyes of the Nexus, ‘a strategic resource’ hadn’t yet been lost to the Nether attack. But no one was going to claim that this wasn’t important. Or disturbing.
This was the first attack the Nexus had suffered in a long time. Which was dangerous… but also an opportunity, of a sort. For those patient forces that had been in an extended stalemate for the last millennium, they were ready to use this opportunity to break the uneasy peace of the Nexus. Someone would take the fall for this.
There were six crystal chairs in the long room two to the left, two to the right, and one on each end, capping things off. There was no table, so each chair could see the other figures perfectly. Octavius lowered his gaze as he crossed the room to his own seat. Truthfully, he didn’t deserve to be in this room. But as the Overseer of the Seventh Cohort, all of the truly powerful figures in the room would open themselves up to scrutiny if he wasn’t present for the discussion of the attack under his jurisdiction. So, almost against his will, he came when called.
As was tradition, the seat furthest from the door was left open, should a chosen representative of the System show up. Compared to the four beings already here, the individuals who could claim to be powerful enough to sit in that seat were few and far between. But they carefully observed the tradition. Now was exactly the wrong time to show any unusual behavior.
Octavius sat to the immediate left of the vacant seat, in one of the two chairs to the right. Opposite him was the leader of the Xyrt Brigade, a woman who hid in a thick black cloak that bunched and lay on top of itself like rolls of fat rather than any sort of normal garment. The crystal chair beneath seamed to be composed of needles and bones, an elaborate construct that shouldn’t quite manage to support her weight.
Octavius only glanced at the chair for a second, but already his head began to throb. The casual power of her image was horrifying. With practiced ease, the woman cleared her throat. “I believe it’s time we began.”
For a few moments, there was silence. Then, Divvius Swacc, who sat to Octavius’ left and represented the ‘civilian’ population in the Nexus, nodded slowly. Divvius was a tall, willowing humanoid whose body was composed entirely of small maggots, writhing and tumbling down and slowly oozing back up his figure. He was a hive of constant motion. The crystal chair beneath him resembled the corpse of a dragon, slowly been digested from the inside. “Seconded. Let us begin.”
Immediately, the man opposite Divvius Swacc leaned forward. He was the leader of military high command, having influence over every frontline against the Nexus. Obviously, that included the frontline that had just been overwhelmed… and the one that Randidly had been sent to, which had been attacked by a Nether King and then allowed the defeated Nether King to escape. “Vanity, where is the Xyrt Brigade? We must move quickly to address this threat.”
The Highest Commander’s breathing was heavy out his thick snout and around his long tusks. He was more bore than humanoid, his prodigious muscles locked in place by his heavy armor. Underneath him, his crystal chair shifted to become earthy and… hairy. Like a primordial beast of dirt and flesh.