Chapter 1706 (2/2)

Congratulations! Your Skill Stigma of the Stillborn Phoenix has grown to Level 356!

And YOU. Randidly thought hatefully as he looked at the Skill Level notification. Even if it boosts me in other ways… why the hell do I have a Skill that increases the pain I have to endure…?

Randidly slapped his chest, attempting to distract himself, but it was just such a small ripple in the flood of sensations that was grinding him to pieces. His Nether Core released a keening whine, barely able to keep up with Randidly’s demands even after he had spent a month accumulating within the depths of the shaft before this attempt.

Another shudder. Another small shift. Randidly pressed his eyes shut and willed himself to withstand the combination of pain and horrible pressure he was experiencing.

And then, blessedly, something gave. Some accumulation or alignment or momentum reached critical mass and the grinding motion of the planet became a constant movement. The process became a slide downhill. The pain increased slightly, but Randidly could feel the progress. His breaths were rapid and shallow. Within five minutes, the planet in front of him had vanished, torn away from the universe of the Nexus and now existing within his Alpha Cosmos. His breastbone ached, having born that intensity for so long.

Slowly, all the muscles across his body began to relax.

I… did it… Randidly was too stunned and exhausted to think about it deeply. He simply gawked at the empty expanse in front of him for several seconds. He could already feel the new addition to his Alpha Cosmos, using the significance and images of the population to approximate the prior climate and orient itself within his body in a similar circumstance.

A ghost of a smile flitted across his face, somewhat muted by the trembling of his muscles. For the first time since he had received the appendage, his tail hung limp behind him, completely spent by the accomplishment. He managed to send a message to the Winged Serpent Nemesai, asking him to investigate and make sure his planet wasn’t having any difficulties, before teleporting back to Nrorce’s farm, putting on his gloves, and stumbling back through the lightning tunnel.

Randidly gratefully found a grassy spot between the fields and just plopped down in the dirt. His blurry mind sank into himself, quickly finding oblivion in sleep. His tail crawled like an inchworm, wrapping itself comfortably around his waist.

... and a few hours later he was awoken, of all the inane things in the universe, by the resonant ding of what could only be a doorbell.

Randidly pushed himself up with his palms, his jaw cracking as he yawned. He rubbed dirt from the back of his head. He skimmed through the glowing response from the Winged Serpent that spoke to his concrete success and then stood and stretched. Another loud dong rang out across the farm, drawing Randidly’s attention. It was coming from the largest of the gates, the Northern one.

Not minding the growing heat of his gloves as he moved with purpose, Randidly loped across the farm and arrived at the Northern gate just as a furiously mumbling Nrorce did. The short goblin spared Randidly a venomous glance. “Eh? Finally finished with your nap? Well, don’t bother getting up on this old goblin’s account. And about your Engraving-”

Nrorce led Randidly into an antechamber filled with white lightning, he enthusiastically detailed each one of the minor flaws that he found with the already adjusted Engraving. At first, Randidly was receiving them with good humor, but the goblin simply didn’t stop. And as he listened, Randidly couldn’t help but realize that some of the points Nrorce was bringing up were surprisingly relevant.

“And also-” Nrorce raised a finger but was cut off by a third sonorous ring of the doorbell. The goblin’s tiny eyes narrowed to slits. “Bah! I’ll deal with you later.”

They proceeded past the antechamber to an outlook peeking out from within the massive alabaster walls. There were a few short steps that Nrorce ascended to stand and peer down at the area in front of the gate. It seemed they were about five meters above the ground, impressively sneering down at door-to-door salesmen and the like who might turn up. Randidly couldn’t help but be amused that the goblin’s tone was just as aggressive with these people as it had been with him. “Hey! You! Do you think I’m deaf?!? Stop ringing that. What do you want?”

Randidly shifted forward to stand near Nrorce and saw several other blue-skinned goblins dressed up in tiny little suits. With the five meters, they had to crane their necks upward to look at where Nrorce and Randidly were standing. The leader opened her mouth and began to speak. “We are the representatives of-”

“Oaressel, do you also think me blind? I know who you are. Why the hell are you here?” Nrorce complained.

The leading goblin pressed her lips together. “Fine, let’s skip the pleasantries. Our planet is dying, Nrorce. We cannot continue like this forever. Ivlin is dead. And due to your relationship with her, we’ve allowed-”

“My relationship with her? You’ve allowed?!?” Nrorce snarled with enough force that even Randidly was surprised that the small body could contain that much vitriol. There were no image reverberations, but the sheer emotion that the small goblin briefly released caught him by surprise. “And do not spin yourself webs of fancy; you and your council live on the scraps I deign to give you. Her legacy belongs to me. As it always will. So you can take your proclamation and shove it up your ass.”

“We cannot live like this! People are starving while you horde Aether!” Oaressel stepped forward. There was anger in her, but more than that, Randidly felt her desperation. “Please. We must consider the Nexus’ option of turning a portion of our planet into a Dungeon. Apparently… apparently it is quite rare for a planet to have passed to the Calamity to possess… intelligent life that is as weak… as we are. We… people at o-our tier of power... are in high demand.”

Randidly’s heart clenched to hear the bitter acknowledgment in Oaressel’s tone. The other members of the delegation lowered their heads and stared at the ground.

“Bah! Fuck you. Fuck you and fuck everyone who wishes to take her memory away from me. This legacy is MINE.” Nrorce hissed. Then he spun around and brushed past Randidly to head back within the farm. For a long time, Randidly stood there, his mind trying to unpack what he had just heard. Below, the goblins in their tiny suits sighed and allowed their shoulders to slump.

Randidly turned and followed after the wonderful chef he had stayed with for three weeks. “Nrorce-”

“I’m not in the mood to talk,” his host grunted. Nrorce didn’t even bother to check if Randidly had properly latched his image suppression gloves before following. He just hobbled forward, radiating a profound malice. “If your mouth has the energy to flap… just go clean up the bear enclosure.”

Refusing to say anything else, Nrorce stomped through the antechamber and back toward his home.