Chapter 1416 (1/2)

Compared to the lengthy discussion that Randidly ended up having with Derek Moss, Annie's response to his message was much more straightforward: as long as he guaranteed her safety, of course he could take Delilah into the Dungeon for a while.

When he received the lightning-fast response, Randidly blinked in surprise. The abruptness of the agreement and the lack of questions made him feel strangely at a loss after all the preparations he had made. So just to reassure himself that what he was suggesting was a safe option, Randidly began to talk about some of the things he discussed with Derek.

Very quickly, Annie interrupted him. No need to explain. Enjoy your trip.

”Huh...” Randidly said aloud. He rubbed his chin and examined what he had said and then Annie's responses again and again. Was he simply better at persuading than he suspected...? Or was there something that he was missing…?

Finally, Randidly figured he had nothing to lose so he simply asked Annie why she had agreed so quickly. This time her response was much slower, but it was again short.

You don't understand what it's like to be a parent.

At this point, Randidly threw his hands up in the air and accepted that he didn't quite get Annie's response, but her agreement wasn't faked. And Randidly doubted that he would get a different decision out of the typically stoic Dozer. As long as the kids agreed, he could take them both with him into the Dungeon.

One task down, a million to go...

Over the next hour, Randidly engaged in several discussions with Tatiana regarding the new political system they would implement in Kharon and also the details of the duos tournament. The tournament itself was scheduled to start in six days, hosted in the Orchard, so there were some details that needed to be finalized as soon as possible. Specifically, Randidly was currently grappling with the messy task of the tournament preliminaries.

Because they didn’t want to bar anyone from participating, applicants were already flooding in. The current count was a little less than a thousand, but it seemed like they might even reach 3000 before the Order Ducis stopped accepting applications the day before the tournament. It was an added strain on Kharon’s resources that was not needed right now.

Even if I can't finalize the details now, I can take those questions into the Dungeon and work on them there. Truly, having the ability to secretly train while no time at all passes in the real world is quite the advantage...

Of course, Randidly wasn't the only one who knew the advantages of Dungeons. He was just one of the few people who could avoid the drawbacks. But despite those risks, he was aware that hundreds of people had flocked to Dungeons after the announcement of the duos tournament, planning on pushing their Skill Levels just a little higher and working on teamwork. Most of the projected applicants were those who had gone recently into Dungeons and stayed there for several hours of actual time.

For that reason, those preliminary rounds were very important. The gathering of Classers was basically unprecedented. Even those unaffiliated with the established Zones dreamed of naming the Earth. And the Order Ducis had to deal with such a large number of people both efficiently and fairly. They had to appear in control.

Heh, simply so many things to do… But that’s for the best. There is no way that the people who want to target Kharon will let these chances slide... Randidly's mouth slowly stretched into a grin. But I think they will be quite disappointed if they believe they can pressure this city, even if I don't personally move...

Then Randidly shook his head and let the thoughts about political issues fall away. Despite the fact that there seemed to be endless things to do, with the Dungeon visit planned Randidly had some time. Plus, the two hours was up; it was time to once more reach out to Vualla. Randidly’s fingers flexed.

Congratulations! Your Skill Nether Ritual (A) has grown to Level 167!

For whatever reason, this activation of Nether RItual proceeded even more smoothly than the prior one had. Perhaps it was because the connection was already established and Vualla was aware that it would appear, so there was a base for the connection on both sides. The Nether seemed to weave itself together faster than Randidly’s eyes could follow. But no matter what the cause was, the resulting connection was instant and intimate. Randidly could feel Vualla's warm rush of joy as he reached across time and space to suddenly swirl in her Soulspace.

Those first few moments were just the two of them being present with each other, allowing their familiar existences to ease both the accumulated worries that both had gathered. It hadn’t been long, but a lot had happened since they had last conversed.

Randidly looked at Vualla and felt some sort of horrifying certainty hanging over her slowly lift as they simply interacted with each other. It was a feeling that he recognized from Neveah’s struggles, but the terrible specter of loneliness and depression was slowly extinguished as Randidly was there, breathing with her.

For Randidly's part, some deep inner fear he had been ignoring regarding Vualla was finally reassured. She hadn’t died, she hadn’t been turned against him. Breath by breath, they both relaxed.

Hey, Randidly began slowly. Then he abruptly felt foolish. Maybe he should have prepared something more… meaningful to say.

Vualla's amusement was a rich and vibrant thing. Her previously sparse inner landscape lit up like someone had turned the power back on at an amusement part at the witching hour. If you don't want to talk about it, you don't have to. But don't think for a second I can't take a single look at you and know that you almost died recently, Randidly Ghosthound.

That forced a mental chuckle out of Randidly. Well, I would have brought it up eventually. A Special Investigator from your very own Xyrt Brigade came to Earth. He was... well, he was convinced I was a Nether Spy-

I wonder what gave him that idea, Vualla laughed. You know that my senses tell me you are even more dangerous than a Nether Gatekeeper, right?

Randidly just mentally shrugged and continued to explain. -and he wouldn't let the issue go. To the point that even the Xyrt Brigade effectively abandoned him on my planet, for failing to fulfill his duty. With that opportunity, and in order to rid the Earth of another threat... I killed him.

The air between them was silent. Around his physical body back on Earth, Randidly felt the Nether Ritual waver. As his mind wandered, the weave slowly began to come undone. And he knew it was his own fault, because he pulled back slightly as he admitted that he killed a member of the Xyrt Brigade. Ultimately, Kaan had been a tool of the Swacc Family, but Randidly wanted to be honest with Vualla. And he was very afraid of what her reaction would be.

As Randidly pulled slightly away, Vualla reached out and pulled him back. Relax, the Xyrt Brigade isn't some cult. I haven't been brainwashed into feverishly cursing anyone that kills a Xyrt Brigade member. From what I can tell... there are a lot of competing factions within the Xyrt Brigade. They encourage infighting, so long as there aren’t any enemies present. Honestly... it might be better if the Xyrt Brigade was a cult.

But they are much more practical than some religious organization... and much more dangerous. Something in Vualla's tone began to change. The bright lights of her emotions that had been given power by Randidly's arrival began to flicker and die around him. I... it's been hard, here. To still believe... that our promise is realistic. That this Nexus... can ever be shaken. It's... hard to do this alone. I’ve… it’s so dumb. Without you… I...

You aren’t alone, Vualla. Chiding himself silently for missing her weakness to this point, Randidly reached out with Yggdrasil and wrapped his thick roots around Vualla's Soulspace and images. Mental energy began to rapidly pump outward, radiating from the roots and nourishing the surrounding space. And as Randidly released more and more energy to nourish Vualla, he was horrified to discover that the mental starvation Vualla had experienced was much worse than he had originally sensed.

Starvation might even be less accurate than dehydration. The parts of Vualla that were the brightest and most valuable, her courage and kindness, have withered and faded to almost nothing. Under the relentless pressure she endured, the Xyrt Brigade had managed to transform this Vualla from a hopeful young woman into something very close to the bleak fatalism of the first duplicate Vualla, which even now bound Ileot Swacc.