Chapter 1574 (2/2)

Randidly released a low breath. Before accepting the demand of the Visage of Obsession, he composed and sent messages to Helen and Vualla, saying that his training would take away his ability to contact them for a while. But that he was safe and improving quickly, and would likely soon have a method to get out of the grasp of the horrifying significance.

The last line was a bit of a stretch, but Randidly felt the effect that Fatepiece was having. He was rather confident that he would soon have a breakthrough. The significance swirling around his practice was steadily increasing. He knew he was close.

After sending the messages, he nodded. He reached up and put a finger to his temple, going simply by instinct. When he moved that finger away, he could feel a tight cluster of Aether attached to his finger. After minutely examining the complex intersecting lines, he lowered his finger and deposited the System notifications within the basket.

With a gleeful expression, Lyra vanished and Randidly slid out of the Visage of Obsession. He consulted Absolute Timing. A month had passed in that sudden moment of arrival in front of Lyra. Which brought his time in the shaft to near five months. Around him, the Nether Ritual he had made to isolate himself was starting to tear at the edges; the coincidental damage from emotions had almost interrupted his focus.

Randidly shook himself, loosening the muscles that were stiff from long-standing still for a month. Then he twisted his mouth. Seems like if this keeps going up… this depth won’t be enough to cover the time spent in the Fatepiece…

Feeling somewhat worried by various threats, Randidly released his hold on the emotional tether and drifted downward. The air continued to thicken around him as it contained more and more Nether. The increases were incremental, but Randidly could sense the qualitative change in the air was coming soon.

As he drifted downward, his senses could stretch farther and farther, sensing more and more Nether Beasts crowding the depths. In addition, he could detect three of those entirely clear spheres where Nether beasts dared not tread. Below them was an even thicker grouping of Nether Beasts, but what was most intriguing was that in this group, there was a significant amount of fighting-

Feeling suddenly cold, Randidly seized the emotional tether once more. He wiped cold sweat from his brow and released a relieved breath. Part of losing my sense of direction really was losing my sense of time… If I wasn’t paying close attention to the Nether content of the air, I would have just kept descending… and even still, I proceeded a bit more deeply than I wanted…

Currently, the Nether content in the air was right below 75%. To distract himself and prevent the increased density of Nether Beasts at this depth from noticing him, Randidly wove a Nether Ritual around his person. Then he began to train each of his images in turn, shaping them and charging their emotional power.

It was comically easy to set aside his images and concentrate on the training. Soon, he was completely immersed.

But even if he lost himself in the familiar training patterns, partway through he slowed in his movements as he practiced with the Inscrutable Mien of Yggdrasil. He looked down at his hands in wonder. Heh, without the Skill Level up notifications, it is quite easy to get lost here… I really wish I knew what the ratio of time here to the outside world is…

Sighing, Randidly could only set that concern aside. There was really nothing he could do to find out that knowledge; worrying about it was a waste of time. So he settled back into his stance and thought about what Yggdrasil meant to him.

And as he was about to activate his Skills, the epiphany he had been waiting for arrived.

Stability and growth… those are what I sought with Yggdrasil. The warm embrace of the World Tree that supports the entire planet. Both of Randidly’s arms fell to his sides. From the deepest part of his soul, waves of indigo began radiating outward. He pressed his eyes closed and bowed his head. Those are what… those are what I was looking for. Those are what I imagined.

Significance… is subjective. Each individual experiences it personally. It is shaped by context. And it can move quickly or slowly. Some seeds planted in the mind won’t bloom for decades. Others immediately flare to life. Narrative adds a shape to the speed of growth, but it’s not quite that predictable. Viewing the issue from that angle… there is a rather simple explanation of why I so quickly turned to the World Tree. Randidly’s lip curled up. Yet that answer is so convenient and cliched… fuck.

Is this really because of my parents…?

Randidly’s memories drifted back to the past. He thought about his father leaving. About his mother losing herself in liquor and drugs and men. Of spending a silent childhood of loneliness. Of meeting Sydney and then chasing her through high school and into college. This younger version of himself that Randidly viewed dispassionately in his memories threw himself enthusiastically into all his pursuits.

In the long nights of his youth, Randidly Ghosthound had heedlessly searched for something. Perhaps that something truly was stability and growth. Because when he shaped his image, that was what emerged.

There’s only one way to truly see if this insight is enough… Randidly reflected. He drifted over toward the bone wall, Nether concentrating on his pointer fingers. As he did so, the significance in the surroundings began to sluggishly congregate toward him. Randidly couldn’t help but tremble. Even now, his movements carried enough weight to resist the significance below.

Randidly began to carve. The movement of Nether around him only grew stronger as the Engraving took shape in front of him.