Chapter 1477 (2/2)
The Grim Chimera breathed in, sucking in oxygen and energy from the surrounding.
Congratulations! Your Skill Cursed Appetite of a Wraith (L) has grown to Level 299!
The relatively thick Aether that blanketed Expira rushed into the Grim Chimera’s body. The thin film of Nether provided an almost nonexistent boost to his Nether Nebula. But the real effect was the way that the surrounding air of the island seemed to grow dim for a few seconds. Randidly could notice trace weakenings of the stone beneath him as the Grim Chimera stole something vital from everything touched by its breath.
The Grim Chimera held that breath in his chest for a few seconds that gradually released it. Then he breathed in again.
Still, all that energy made the Grim Chimera practically glow. Randidly took a few more steps forward, savoring the intoxicating feeling of power within this physical form. Then, before he was carried away by the sensation, Randidly stretched out his right arm. The subtle strand of rope wrapped around his wrist trembled and then unfolded into the air. Soon, the complex matrices of the Dreamcatcher of the Long Night hovered in front of him.
The Grim Chimera, burning with fighting spirit, slipped into the strange space of lights and echoing resonances. The observing Randidly felt a small amount of pity. You believe this is necessary to prove yourself and we believe it is necessary so you might be broken and then reforged, but… be careful.
Without any hesitation, the Grim Chimera called a moment to mind and it grew bright and rushed to hover in front of him. Of the moments within the Dreamcatcher, it was clear from the shrill keening of it t this was one of the most powerful. Randidly carefully wove a protective film of Aether and Nether tightly around his Class, then allowed the eager Grim Chimera to reach forward and touch that heavy moment. There was a brief sense of disorientation and then Randidly was there, floating.
It was an extended, empty moment. The Grim Chimera grinned in anticipation. Randidly Ghosthound released a breath while the Stillborn Phoenix and Yggdrasil prepared themselves. And then that flitting Perception came upon his person as Elhume looked for Yystrix.
If anything, Randidly’s first impression of that contact was a sense of awe. In their previous brush, he hadn’t possessed the same familiarity with Aether and Nether that he did now. So when this time, that massive landmass of crystalized Aether appeared in front of him, he could truly appreciate the feat it represented. The fossilized power there was enough to rival what one million Randidly Ghosthound’s could currently accomplish. There were mountain ranges and valleys and plateaus and rough edges ravines within that landmass sized crystal, all possessing more raw power than Randidly could generate.
Looking at it, it seemed impossible.
Even more intimidatingly, this time Randidly could sense what lay beneath that huge and eye-catching piece of crystal Aether. It rested on a swirling swamp of Nether. It was a sinister tar that sizzled against the bottom of the crystalized Aether, representing an equally staggering gathering of significance to mirror the meaning that Elhume possessed.
But the sizzle made Randidly frown. Why-
Something that was deeply locked away within all that crystalized Aether stirred. The movement created a minuscule crack. That silent slithered across the continent of crystal. And suddenly all that Randidly could sense was a distant buzzing.
When he came to, his Absolute Timing told him that he had been unconscious for four minutes and eleven seconds. He sat up with a groan, a vicious headache pounding at the periphery of his awareness. That brief brush with Elhume had apparently knocked him directly out of the Dreamcatcher of the Long Night.
He glanced around. It seemed that the process had also melted the only-now cooling sand on which he had been standing
Randidly turned his attention inward and then sighed with relief; although his Class was shaken, it hadn’t been stripped barren as it had in the past. Perhaps being knocked out of the memory and not having to remain underneath Elhume’s scrutiny weakened the permanent damage. Or, quite depressingly, perhaps he had finally become powerful enough to survive a single glance from Elhume.
At that point, Randidly became aware of the low whine that was coming from the Grim Chimera. What he found in his image was somewhat shocking: even the most core detail of that confident Grim Chimera was now blurry and indistinct. The impact of Elhume’s attention had smashed it to smithereens. If it hadn’t been the image focused on survival, it likely would have been completely annihilated, the remnants now uselessly drifting apart.
Yggdrasil was also wounded from the brush, but much less so than the Grim Chimera. So it quickly marshaled its energy and prepared to heal its fellow image. But Randidly shook his head and stopped it. The Grim Chimera chose this. Let it heal on its own. It needs this.
Meanwhile, the keening cry of suffering continued. But more than a lament, the noise was a promise. The Grim Chimera swore vengeance with every moment of his strained suffering.