Chapter 1613 (2/2)

To the front, Aether and Nether were steadily condensed into their concentrated forms. At the end of that Path, the two concentrated forms of energy were brought together. Unfortunately, he wasn't able to witness that moment, but from what Randidly could sense, the result had been extremely positive.

Even now, he felt aggrieved to have been spun around right as he was about to step forward.

Yet behind Randidly lay an entirely different Path… one that seemed to lead to the isolation and destruction sitting at the base of the shaft below the Nexus. And Randidly seemed to be following in those footsteps, by focusing his attention on creating a Nether Core and his Aether physicalizations.

Randidly looked down at his hand and slowly made a fist. By this point, he had mostly recovered from the physical damage, so he didn’t hesitate to flex to the limit of his abilities. His right arm became spectral as his image physicalizations settled over his limbs. But… are the interactions between the two energies truly that predictable...? Was Velio Dunn being honest when he said this method was a mistake…?

For a second, he frowned down at his hand that was wrapped in the power of his images. Golden veins pulsed with light beneath the translucent skin. But as the seconds ticked past, Randidly’s expression gradually smoothed out; the wrinkles around his mouth vanished. He could look down at his hand and recapture just a bit of that smug satisfaction that he experienced earlier.

“I don’t believe that there are only two answers to how Aether and Nether can be used,” Randidly said to the air. Then he rolled his shoulders. “And at the very least… I’m on a very different Path. While the visions that I saw along the Path had Aether and Nether develop separately… aren’t my energies woven together?”

Randidly raised his hand to the sky. Even as the struggle between Commandant Wick and the Nether Herald continued to rage, his enthusiasm didn’t ebb. “With these hands… I can seize it. I’ll create something entirely new; I’ll continue to step further beyond the bounds of the Nexus. And then someday… when I have gained the perspective I need…

“I’ll tear this all down.” Randidly finished softly.

RUMMBLLLLLEEEEEE

Randidly froze for a split second, wondering if his declaration had some magical effect. But he could only chuckle awkwardly when reality asserted itself; the noise was obviously the rumbling clash between the two forces in the sky. Shaking his head, Randidly pushed himself back up to his feet and looked again at his Paths.

After chewing on his lip for a while, Randidly decided to rush through a few more Paths. He started with a Path that he had for quite a while: The Bell of Doom Tolls.

Congratulations! You have completed the Bell of Doom Tolls Path. On your wanderings through the wilderness, your steps have echoed with the lingering note of death! As you have moved forward, you have chosen not to stamp out the gradual reverberations that have gathered around you. Since you have stayed your hand, their particular music grows. Soon, all will know of your coming simply by the horrific tremors of your steps.

Congratulation! Intelligence and Focus +20! You have gained the Skill Deadly Reverberations (R)!

Resonance detected! Recalculating…

Your Skills Deadly Reverberations (R) and Burning Footsteps have combined to form Aura of Wildfire (A)! Skill Level will be maintained.

Randidly had an almost indulgent smile on his face as he looked at the Path completion notification. Ha, such a minor Stat boost… plus, Burning Footsteps is a Skill I haven’t even thought about in a long time. I don’t mind the Aura of Wildfire… but ultimately, the only reason to grab weaker Skills without an overarching image is to farm PP. But at this point, I think it’s clear that PP isn’t going to be a problem for me, either in the short or long term.

Perhaps in the middle stretch of time, it would be useful, but also…

Randidly’s eyes began to glitter as an idea occurred to him. He crossed his arms and tapped a finger against his metal elbow. One of the reasons he focused on his newer Paths was because he always assumed that the newer, and due to circumstances longer, Paths would provide more relevant Skills. Which had indeed proved true.

But Skills were tiny image blueprints. Randidly had developed his images recently by simply relying on his own mind and attention to refine them, but purposefully introducing impurities into a material was a strategy that he used quite commonly while he was forging. Generally, the impurities gripped most tightly onto other impurities, allowing the final product to be much more robust.

As he hummed to himself, Randidly slipped into his Soulspace and spoke to the Grim Chimera. Of all the images, you are the only one that hasn’t risen all the way to Pinnacle. Do you think you make some progress toward that by devouring a few Skills?

When the Grim Chimera responded to Randidly with a predator’s smile, he only chuckled. Then Randidly looked back through his Path list, his gaze changed. No longer was he solely focusing on which Paths would lead him to obtain more Stats, but now he saw in each Path the potential to obtain a valuable fertilizer. And with his PP still sitting at over 25k, he could certainly obtain quite a few tons of the stuff.

Just as Randidly was about to start dumping PP into his Paths, however, a change in the sky gave him pause. There was no noticeable change, but the quality of the Nether in the air changed.

Randidly steadily began to frown as he looked upward. The Aether structure around the planet was beginning to shudder and bend. The small motes of Nether that formed and dissipated in only a few seconds seemed to be becoming increasingly numerous. Randidly's expression shifted toward concern and vague surprise. “Commandant Wick… is losing?”