Chapter 1938

Chapter 1938

“How’s the Patron of Feathers?” Randidly asked as he leaned back against the hand-sewn cushions. He, Neveah, and Tatiana sat at the rather cramped table by the window, half of their bodies bathed in sunlight. Despite their relative importance on the broader political spectrum of Expira, no one seemed to notice their presence here. Conversation and business continued around them without the slightest pause.

It was a definite relief, one Tatiana hadn’t even believed at first. She insisted everyone would know him immediately. Randidly had finally cut his hair, but most of the customers at the diner seemed either too self-involved or fearful to notice them. Or, more honestly, most of the people who ended up here came from Danger Zones connected to Expira, so they knew of Randidly Ghosthound, but had never seen him.

Their waitress was a frogperson and the one who seated them had been of a strange, teddy-bear looking teenager with a blank expression. Both had been too numbed by the constant flow of customers to give them more than a perfunctory look.

Well, Randidly’s lips twitched as his gaze went out the window. Several prominent and powerful figures waited, not approaching but watching the diner with intent gazes. The zealous fervor in their eyes was visible even from here. They stood next to their mounts and adjusted their grip on the weapons. They were an unasked for honor guard. I suppose we are incognito as long as you ignore how many of the Riders are gathering at this location. Few Zones could muster up enough force to harm this diner, right now.

Neveah pursed her lips and looked down at her coffee. “Her situation is stable; she remains on the schedule Lucretia warned you about. Nothing unusual has happened; she continues to dim and wither. The original timeline of about four more months... seems like it will hold. However, the Patrons are becoming increasingly upset, actually watching her suffer. Their work isn’t quite what the other Pantheon members have come to expect. Returning to the Nexus sooner would be better.”

Randidly nodded slowly. His mouth tasted sour. Now that the deadline approached, he felt like there were so many more tasks that needed his immediate attention. But so long as he trained both the emotional method Helen had demonstrated and familiarized himself with his new Domain, he would emerge a much more powerful version of himself than came down the shaft to meet Solomon Rex. Plus, if he could find more time to experiment with his Fourth Authority-

His thoughts paused when their harried waitress approached the table. She favored them all with a tired but genuine smile. “So, have you had time to look over the menu? What can I get for you?”

“I’ll have the daily special,” Tatiana said as she took the menus from Randidly and Neveah and gave them to the waitress in a neat pile. Neveah ordered the same.

“I’ll take the Southwest Scramble,” Randidly said. The waitress nodded and then flounced away. At the next table over, a toddler stared soulfully at Randidly over his mother’s shoulder, deeply perplexed by something in his visage. Randidly couldn’t help but wonder if the kid had some unusual perception-based Skill, already, or could witness a bit of his images.Fiind updated novels at novelhall.com

Hell, my Animation Nova is activated constantly. They should do studies to see if I’m safe to be around children, He reflected, only partially joking.

“I hope the food tastes as good as it smells,” Tatiana sighed in satisfaction and then took another sip of her tea. “The chef at City Hall does either artisan flatbreads or yogurt parfaits for breakfast, but sometimes you just want a hefty helping of diner food. Grease and butter, oh god. Mmm...”

The group departed B’s Crossing quietly, after leaving a rather sizable tip. Randidly returned to his volcano, having agreed to Tatiana’s request to appear and be more present for these events. He crossed his fingers, hoping they wouldn’t be too torturous, and turned to his Path screen. With a hundred and thirty-five thousand more PP to go through, he needed to hit some of the high-cost Paths. He would probably leave himself a slight buffer again, just in case he found a very necessary Path in the future, but for now, it was time to spend.

Congratulations! You have completed the Sigh as the Sky Closes Path! You have housed a dark power of Exodus for some time, within the muscles and organs of your body. The shadowy interiors of your joins have nurtured its growth. The end yet remains distant, but you can now hear its approaching breath. The world stumbles forward and you can only watch its heavy struggles. Yet as you observe the world on its Path, you can briefly predict a moment of the future, where it finally collapses and the sky folds inward to reveal the waiting carrion.

Within the yawning abyss, a face sneers. It waits with limitless patience for its long-promised corpse. After the collapse, it will feast.

For a brief moment, your eyes meet. That interaction changes you in mysterious ways.

Congratulations! Primordial Nether Juju +300! Congratulations! You have gained the Skill Smothering Inevitability (L)!

Smothering Inevitability (L): User is empowered by the finality that awaits all things. When user lands blows on a foe, a small portion of that inevitably infects the recipient. As more and more of that power begins to accumulate in the foe’s body, their Stats are slightly reduced and they receive additional damage from the user. Effect increases with Skill Level.

Congratulations! You have completed Joy, the Blooming Sun Path! As you walk along through the varied landscapes, you come to appreciate that for your planet, the font of all life is the sun. Its rays caress the ground, radiant and generous with their apportionment of existence. Day and night are divided due to the period of life that occurs in the day. Night is a time of rest and preparation for those hours where the sun is present. Prolonged exposure creates the possibilities of wondrous things; life is a gift only possible because of its furnace of energy.

Observing this process, you steadily accumulate insight into the wondrous spread of possibilities. Your feet tingle against the sun-warmed ground, feeling the shift in your environment before you even understand it. However, with continued observation, you advance.

Congratulations! Unnatural Metabolism +300! Congratulations! You have gained the Skill-

Recalculating... Synchronicity detected!

Due to your Fourth Authority: Animation Nova, you have gained the Skill Animus Diffraction (M)(U)!

Animus Diffraction (M)(U): A unique Skill of Randidly Ghosthound due to synergy with his powerful Nether Core. Impossible to duplicate; attempts to do so will cause degeneration in the body of the recipient. Some of the user’s potent and passive radiation strikes the prism of your body and is released with a slightly more vigorous disposition than the usual force. Other entities that are within a certain distance of user will have the chance to receive some extra Animus. Animus will give those individuals passively an increased ability to gain Skill Levels and also the ability to subconsciously consume Animus in order to improve their own Skills and images. Will only be able to increase Skills to just beyond the current standard of Randidly Ghosthound. Passive and active effects improve with Skill Level. Rate of release slightly increases with Skill Level.