Chapter 1575 (1/2)

Time seemed to accelerate for the current Randidly. But at the same time, it receded like a shy tide. He barely noticed its passage as he threw himself into his training. If not for Absolute Timing, he might have been completely drifted away into the satisfying actions of improving himself. The mental clarity gifted by the Fatepiece left him sharp, but it also left him smooth.

He glided forward on that smoothness, barely noticing his surroundings. He passed easily from one moment to the next, without the slightest hint of friction or hesitation.

His abilities with isolating Nether Rituals grew more sophisticated with repetition. Without Skill Levels, he could only rely on examining the results, but it was clear that his creations now lasted for longer. He could lose himself for a month and still return to himself to find the Ritual intact. Randidly wondered if he should expose himself more to the emotional attacks to force growth, but his current rate of growth seemed fine to him.

So he continued to train. He glided forward, gradually accumulating significance and experience in equal measure. The Nether around him was rich with emotion and nuance, carrying with it the weight of history. Yet even with his accumulation, he was uncannily smooth, cutting through everything.

His focus on details became overwhelming. Randily often found himself lost in the minutia of his improvement. Yggdrasil, the Grim Chimera, and the Stillborn Phoenix continued to sharpen their details. They grew strong.

He improved in other areas as well. Spear usage. Image details. Emotional control. Nether utilization. In all of these areas, he improved.

Sometimes each training session took a whole day, sometimes they stretched to fill an entire week. Without really noticing it, these training sessions pushed the time Randidly had spent in the depths upward; he had suddenly been here for a year.

I’m improving quickly, I believe… but is it enough…? To that question, Randidly had no answer.

He was stronger, yes, but it was not enough. The foes waiting for him in the Nexus were even stronger than the current him. So he buckled down and trained. His resolve continued to fold itself into smaller and sharper forms. That resolve cut through everything to push him toward his goal.

Of course, improving his Engraving for the Nether Core took up most of his time. His epiphany guided Randidly to create a shape that mobilized the surrounding Nether, but he destroyed the result all the same and tried again immediately afterward. His useless eyes traced the curves of Nether upon the bone wall and realized his mistake.

What he had discovered about himself was the core, but it wasn’t the whole. Everything he had considered in the past was relevant. It was ‘significant’. The larger shape had been located… now it was just a matter of establishing the relevant context.

Which, once more, brought him back to training. The repetition would have once been tiresome, but he couldn’t even stop himself at this point. His emotions continued to seeth within his chest, empowered and volatile.

From effort inevitably came results. As the Engraving for his first image gradually took shape, his thoughts moved to his other two images. And in addition, Randidly began practicing the Nether art of layering. His Nether Core would need to incorporate all three of these forces. So to get ahead of problems down the line, he practiced the layering.

Due to his smoothness, more and more time was lost. Wrapped in his Nether Rituals, he was safe from distraction. The only reason Randidly eventually surfaced was that he felt that familiar plateau arriving before him. It was no longer so simple to spot the increased proficiency from practice.

So he produced the Visage of Obsession and stared into its swirling colors. He was buoyed further by those colors until he arrived in front of a familiar figure. But the rough strokes that had once been Lyra shifted to draw a new form.

Ki-Kunot, the leader whose fiery passion reminded Randidly of himself when he had finally understood the System, the bird-woman he had killed inside of a Dungeon on Expira, was waiting for him upon a grey plain. She greeted him with a stern glance, as though asking what took him so long. Randidly almost chuckled, but just gestured for her to inform him what he would sacrifice here.

The separation between the world and the Visage of Obsession. Ki-Kunot responded in a light voice. It will proceed more quickly if you view it directly… but now it will steadily advance, whether you are viewing it or not.

Randidly pressed his lips together. As long as one aspect didn’t run unchecked, that was almost a benefit. And the sacrifices…?

To Randidly’s relief, Ki-Kunot shook her head in denial. No, they will not be automatically deducted. Those steps will always require your express assent. But this step will further eliminate your sense of time. The fog of the Fatepiece will cling to you always. To that end… Your Skill Absolute Timing will also be blocked.

So this is the cost of proceeding halfway through the Fatepiece… Randidly grinned at Ki-Kunot and nodded his assent to this sacrifice. And just like that, he was back floating in the gloomy shaft. Emotional currents washed around his Nether Ritual. Yet what he noticed immediately was that at the edges of his perception, the colors began to swirl strangely. Tingling motes of silver and navy blue flashed. Yet when he focused on those areas, the deviations rapidly normalized.

Randidly clicked his tongue silently and dismissed the Nether Ritual. Then he released his hold on his emotional tether, intent on going deeper. As for how long…

Randidly abruptly realized he had simply been blankly floating downward for at least a minute. Without his Skill… time was becoming increasingly runny between his fingers. He felt a great deal of pity for those inside of his Alpha Cosmos who would proceed through this length of time normally, but he needed to trust them to maintain their edge in the meantime.