Chapter 1716 (2/2)

“It’s a byproduct…” Claudette whispered. “...of when someone takes the Path to the Pinnacle and fails. When their image shatters… the ‘good’ parts become chunks of Aetherium.”

Nrorce nodded slowly, the wrinkles on his face deepening. Then he turned away. “Follow me. Bring the kid. ...before I change my mind.”

*****

You have been made in my image. Work hard.

Randidly grimaced as the powerful image that clung to his psyche pulsed again, sending out a wave of power that pressed against everything that he was. At this point, he had totally lost sensation in his physical body. He could ground himself with his connection to the Alpha Cosmos and Nether Core, but that repeated burst of memory was steadily eroding Randidly’s sense of self. He could feel himself drifting, a plastic bottle bobbing across an endless sea of meaning.

Congratulations! Your Skill Lesser Aether Inoculation (M) has grown to Level 199!

Perhaps Randidly would have been able to resist the significance of this memory at his peak. But Randidly had gone through the absorption of Tellus and then the fight against Velio Dunn prior to being thrown into this situation. Both his images and his Nether Core had been pushed to their limits… and into that exhausted shell, this horrible image invaded.

Congratulations! Your Skill Lesser Aether Inoculation (M) has grown to Level 200!

Randidly didn’t even have the spare energy to examine the memory and look for extra meaning or identify when or where it was from. Randidly simply had to spin his three images together into a tighter and tighter mass, resisting the memory’s inexorable tide. His Class and Skills creaked and groaned underneath its influence. His Nether Core was hanging by a thread, unable to generate enough Nether to withstand its force.

You have been made in my image. Work hard.

The image pulsed again. A horrible ache ran through the core of Randidly Ghosthound. And at the same time, some part of him felt a powerful pang of embarrassment.

Was Velio Dunn seriously suppressing this inside of himself the entire time… and I was only able to fight him to a fucking draw!?!?

There were a few benefits to the agonizing process of resistance, however. As with all training, the difficulty made it an especially good experience. His three images were more tightly integrated than Randidly had ever managed to accomplish in the past; necessity had shoved them together. As a result, the previously diffuse power that Randidly usually wielded with them had been concentrated.

The only problem was how weak each individual image currently was in comparison to Velio Dunn…

Suddenly, a new pulse arrived and caused Randidly’s concentration to briefly slip. Because instead of the strange portrait of Elhume and Yystrix, the source was behind him, deeper within his Soulspace.

Randidly twisted his focus around and examined the new arrival. Compared to the domineering grip of the words of Elhume, this new memory/image was… warm. And almost loving. Its pulses that spread throughout Randidly weren’t trying to warp him in the same way as the first. He only hesitated for a split second before he dragged most of his remaining consciousness over to the gently undulating memory.

Randidly sank into it easily. And suddenly, all of the mental pain he had been enduring vanished. The change was so abrupt that Randidly sucked in a breath. His Nether Core stabilized and began churning out vast amounts of thick Nether that could swirl around his person. His images could lick their wounds and Yggdrasil released a pulse of healing aura through all three of them. Rapidly, they began to recover. Randidly’s foggy awareness cleared, giving him time to look around.

Underneath the continued influence of the Elhume memory, Randidly could sense this warm image slowly being worn down. It was being consumed to protect him. But at the same time, Randidly felt himself rapidly strengthening. There was something… so very real about the memory. Even just being inside of it gave Randidly a sense of peace.

In the memory, the sun on his skin was warm. He was standing on a grass-covered hill. At the base of the hill, there was a waist-height stone wall. And upon that stone wall, a small, blue-skinned goblin was spinning.

“Daddy daddy!” The young goblin called. She did a clumsy roll across the top of the stone wall and then popped back up to her feet. “What this! Shadow Daggers!”

The young goblin struck a pose. Liquid shadow flowed up from her shadow and into her hands, quickly forming into two daggers. When they had completely formed, she flailed wildly through the air, threatening to overbalance herself with her wild and aggressive movements.

A younger and kinder looking Nrorce chuckled as he walked on the dirt path along the wall. “Very impressive, Ivlin. Very cool. Promise you’ll protect daddy if any monsters show up.”