Chapter 1645 (2/2)

It seemed like this concept of Speculum at least answered the second question.

Clink, clink, clink, thump! Clink, thump! Clink, clink, clink, clink, thump!

The descent of hexahedrons was accelerating, increasing the frequency of that painful noise as they impacted each other. They trembled and fell like petals wilting away from a flower. At this point, the massive edifice had been reduced to half its previous size. And the movement of Nether around it hadn’t changed in the least.

Randidly wasn’t sure what material the hexahedrons were cast from, but the clinking noises were like a hammer against a pane of glass that constituted all of creation. Somehow, the impacts were a direct attack on their plane of existence. The experience was strangely unifying and humbling, as all of the representatives of the Nexus were smacked with the same discomfort at every moment.

It made Randidly endlessly curious about the hexahedrons and the Nether King who gathered them. But for now, he focused on this new information from Claudette. “How many of the Speculum identify as Pinnacle Seekers?”

“Four. It’s why we haven’t just been put in our place by Military High Command.” Claudette chucked. Next to her, Narthalla continued her stoic vigil of the collapsing central edifice. The subordinate’s eyes remained fixed on the Nether King’s position. Claudette began to massage Narthalla’s shoulders as she continued to speak. “But of course, all four of our Speculum hate each other. Asking them to work together… is basically impossible.”

Narthalla waved her hand in irritation, pushing away Claudette’s hands from her shoulders. After thinking for a few seconds, Randidly asked another question. “And… do you know a man named Velio Dunn? How does he compare to a Speculum?”

Claudette tapped a finger against her cheek, even as the clinking noise of hexahedrons hitting each other intensified. “Velio Dunn is… a former Speculum, I believe. He suffered a catastrophic injury in the past. But he definitely is someone that up-and-coming warriors fear. The Frost Matriarch…” Claudette looked at Narthalla as she spoke. “Should be able to beat him, but it would be close, right?”

“It depends,” Narthalla responded cryptically. Then she shut her mouth and seemed unwilling to say more.

Clink, clink, clink-clink, clink! Clink, clink, thump, clink-clink!

The hexahedrons fell in an unending waterfall of raindrops, the former mass at the core of the crater disintegrating at a speed visible to the naked eye. Then, all of a sudden, they were all gone, laying on the ground with their sharp edges gleaming, leaving only a platform in the middle of these three forces.

The final curtain had dropped and the third act of this expedition had begun.

Three individuals were on that platform, but all eyes immediately went to the figure sitting on an unordained throne in the middle. The figure’s limbs seemed to be naught but slate-grey smoke, but there were six extremely eye-catching pieces of armor that the figure wore. Each piece was the bright, vibrant blue of the questing veins from within the Great Rift.

The figure had two heavy gauntlets with curling spikes from his knuckles, two scale mail greaves that stretched up to about knee height, a heavy breastplate covered with swirling Nether Rituals across its surface, and a stylized head covered that made Randidly think of an unadorned and stylized trojan helmet. Through the small gaps in the helmet, two pure white eyes could be seen.

The Nether King sat with the chin of his helmet upon the horned knuckles of its right gauntlet, looking as though he was bored with waiting for the forces of the Nexus to approach.

The more that Randidly looked, the more he realized that the Nether King didn’t have limbs. It truly appeared like there was only dark smoke tracing the lines from its six pieces of armor, sketching out an approximation of the human form. Yet this amalgamation of armor could be no one but the Nether King. As soon as he revealed himself, the Nether in the surrounding began to behave unpredictably and beautifully.

New eddies emerged in the currents of significance, following no pattern that Randidly could discern. Energy swirled in complex whirlpools before sluggishly settling back to nothing. Randidly’s Nether Core could practically sense a deep heartbeat of the Nether King’s own Nether Core. The pressure of that other core was incredibly intense, even with all the distance between them.

As the moment stretched, Randidly had the strangest impression that the Nether King adjusted the angle of his helmet and gazed at him, across the entire battlefield.

Then the Nether King shifted back to his former position. While keeping his helmet lazily propped up by the knuckles of his right hand, the Nether King raised his other gauntlet and twisted it so that the palm was facing upward. Then he beckoned with his fingers.

The message to the Nexus’s representatives was clear.

Come, then. I’m waiting.