Chapter 1379 (2/2)

But more than anything else, he slowly got a sense that their planet was truly a sphere. Whatever else this most recent notification changed about Earth, it had at least returned to its status as an actual planet.

And now that Randidly’s focus was thrown so broadly, he could already feel the air rapidly cooling. The extended autumn on Earth appeared to be slowly giving way to winter. It made him feel oddly… sad. His breath snaked out of his nose, despite his focus.

Change was coming.

It was about halfway through his exploration of the planet that Randidly began to run into problems. At this point, even with his extremely high Stat, it was impossible to get anything but the most general sense of what was going on so far away from his position. But he could clearly sense that almost exactly halfway across the world from Zone 1’s ground zero of New Earth, some glitches began to crop up.

Some areas in the recently liberated borderlands were filled with chaotic Nether storms, ripping up large stretches of ground with their destructive energies. Other places appeared to have been put together by a toddler, the edges of some pieces of land precariously propped up on others like two puzzle pieces that clearly didn’t match. Which, of course, meant that there were other spaces that were simply a void. Randidly found one river that just flowed off of a cliff, into a deep divot in the Earth’s crust in which he couldn’t sense the bottom.

At that point, Nether Sensation began to activate, giving him a little added clarity. The Nether storms truly were beginning to weaken before they truly ravaged the planet; they had likely just been triggered by all the Aether activity. In addition, Randidly could sense that deep within the other half of the planet was an area of relative peace. It seemed that the newest Zone had managed to arrive without being dangerously affected.

But truly, peering to the other side of the planet was beyond Randidly’s abilities. He sensed life and movement; for now, that was enough. When he came back to himself, he considered his next course of action. He had been constantly been thrown one threat after another these past few weeks, and even though this was the arrival of a new threat, it was also something Randidly had long known was coming.

The Earth was slowly progressing toward the Nexus.

But all those thoughts were put on hold as Randidly opened his eyes and saw a new notification waiting for him. It was also something of a relief to see that Octavius had sent him a message while he had been heavily using Grim Intuition.

The message was, in a word, rambling. But there were several key points. The Original Vualla had returned. The Xyrt Brigade should arrive within the next twelve hours to handle the Nether situation. Elhume had personally ordered that the Xyrt Brigade help the Earth.

Even though that last addition to the message was slightly disturbing, Randidly was reassured that Elhume hadn’t once again turned his gaze his way. Even now, the consequences of being seen by him… Randidly didn’t want to consider it.

And Vualla’s late arrival brought him a sense of relief. Apparently she had needed a moment where Elhume was distracted before she dared move, but now she had come to the Nexus and was investigating the situation.

She asked that when Randidly finished his business on Earth, he proceed to the Nexus so they could consider their next move.

It was then that Randidly realized the strange trepidation he felt as he looked across Earth and felt the planet cooling. In fact, he chastened himself both for being gripped by that sudden hesitation and for taking so long to realize the source of this feeling: now that the Earth was moving toward the Calamities, Randidly’s image being present became more of a problem.

Or, to say it another way, Randidly’s direct influence on Earth might soon be coming to an end. He would need to leave.

Not that Randidly would leave for forever. But for now… it truly seemed like the Path to sufficient power to stand up against individuals like Ileot Swacc and Elhume went through the Nexus. For all the small secrets and tricks that Randidly had discovered here on Earth, he could also discover them on the Nexus, with Vualla to shield him from the scrutiny of the Swacc family that had just recently brought troubles to Earth.

So this time when Randidly spread out his Grim Intuition to cross the surrounding areas, he didn’t look toward the borderlands where he would need to gradually address the geographic mistakes and create a working planet. Instead, he looked at the Zones where he had spent his time.

He stood on the hills above Donnyton and looked down that familiar valley. He saw the Village center, the industrial district, the forest claimed by the Weavers, the sinkhole Randidly had created with his second challenge, and the thickly residential hills surrounding him.

There was still a spot in the lower portion of a valley where a rather unadorned wooden hut sat next to a small area of farmland.

Then he went to Zone 1, following the manatech rail lines to the Orchard. He looked at the massive markets and the bones of new skyscrapers being thrown up at the periphery of the constantly expanding city. Then Randidly flew beyond that, looking at the metal processing and drone plants where he had previously worked to gain experience with alloys.

Then his focus flicked back to that isolated grotto where Randidly had first encountered Simon. And when he went there, he found the Champion, Simon the Dreamer, dozing there. With another flicker, Randidly went to the bit of woods where he had first met Sam, who was hiding out with three actresses. Two would die, but one of those three would haunt Randidly to this day.

With a smile, Randidly revisited dozens of locals that he hadn’t thought of in quite some time. The location where he fought Turtletown’s tribulation and then the empty husk of Turtletown itself… the badlands where he had suffered an attack from the Creature…. Star Crossing and East End… the vast sea… Lake Apollo and the Ogre Gorge…

Randidly sighed and came back to himself. His home planet might not have taken up the lion’s share of his time under the influence of the System, but it held the places and people that he would miss the most after he left.