Chapter 1576 (2/2)

Randidly snorted. Just admit that the Nether Ritual to Vualla pisses you off.

Would a subconscious projection get angry in the first place? Randidly felt Ki-Kunot roll her eyes. Your resolve is weakened by your reliance on Vualla. It is necessary.

Finally, Randidly’s teasing ceased. His expression became serious. She holds the same goal in her heart. Her support has value

Which means she will understand and admire your resolve. Ki-Kunot replied sharply then she sighed. Let’s not distract from the truth; you are worried about how the Visage of Obsession is proceeding. You have held a part of yourself back during this process. That hesitation will need to be lost here too. If you continue forward, you need to accept the risks.

It is a gamble. Randidly grumbled. Ki-Kunot didn’t deny it. Randidly withdrew his senses to within his body and simply hummed, feeling the vibration traveling through his body. Without his sense of time, he couldn’t tell how long he meditated then.

But ultimately, he nodded.

Just like that, certain exchanges that had been occurring subconsciously within himself were ceased. All the meaning and shape that he had been steadily absorbing, due to his Aether connections, stopped flowing into him. Randidly Ghosthound was left alone with himself.

His senses displayed before him a rich world of emotion and color. Nether Beasts breathed and fought each other beyond the strange empty areas that Randidly now approached. Annoyingly, he still couldn’t quite make out what floated in the middle of those voids, though it was clear that something was there.

But he didn’t dwell on it much. He loosened his grip on his emotional tether and sank even deeper. Then, when he was just above the areas with the strange emptiness, he stopped himself and began to train.

No matter what else changed, training was the same.

He Engraved, he perfected images, he gathered emotions, he meditated on significance, he went out and slaughtered Nether Beasts. Without that small observer in Randidly’s mind, he was completely absorbed in this process. He passed smoothly from one moment to the next.

In a way, it was the most fulfilled he could remember being.

Bit by bit, by studying the Nether Cores of the slaughtered Nether Beasts, he had some breakthroughs in the area of layering his Engravings. As his second image, Randidly thought very deeply about what the Grim Chimera meant for him. If Yggdrasil was his deep yearning for a stable support system, then this adaptive monster was-

As it had previously, the Visage of Obsession hummed when it wanted his attention. Randidly gnashed his teeth and pulled out the Fatepiece. What the hell do you want now? It’s only been…

Randidly couldn’t finish that thought. Because he had no idea how much time had passed since the last time that the Visage had spoken to him. And then he let his annoyance go because once more there was a new figure in front of him within the Fatepiece. Shal’s familiar frown examined Randidly from head to toe. Then he shook his head, as though disappointed.

Do you really think Shal would be disappointed if he saw me? Randidly thought with a smile as he looked at the projection.

But to his surprise, the projection nodded sternly. Your resolve has the right shape, but it remains a fragile thing. I know you can do better than this, Randidly Ghosthound. I trained you to achieve more than this.

You are ridiculous, Randidly thought as he shook his head. Even if I’m not amongst the top characters in the Nexus-

Basing your evaluation of yourself on comparisons with others is the comfort of fools. The Shal projection responded.

Randidly was speechless. Or, more accurately, that response left him with a blank mind. Because he could feel how much the projection believed what it said. Did that mean his subconscious was just as foolishly stubborn…?

Not willing to indulge this shade for any longer, Randidly shrugged. Alright, fine. What do I need to sacrifice this time?

Your ability to rest, obviously. The Shal projection said. Then it added, You waste too much time recovering. Better to throw yourself back into training during those times. That way, your bones will remember when you are too exhausted to think.