Chapter 1971

Chapter 1971

On the day of the quarter-finals, the mood on Tournament Island changed. Even the sky felt it, cloudless and endlessly blue.

For the past several weeks, attendance to the various matches had been steadily dropping. The tournament had simply lasted too long for anyone with steady employment to enjoy. But in those few hours before the match between Alana and Kimpap, the docks and quays were flooded with new arrivals and excited attendees. Expira broadly and Donnyton specifically were out in force to support their most powerful fighter.

The Frost Dragons, too, glided in on large glittering wings to the island. They made a camp on a deserted beach, belching up glittering snow flurries up to the sky and performing religious rites. Alana Donal was the ultimate prophet of their religion. She wielded a fragment of the Ghosthound’s divinity.

They wouldn’t miss this fight for the world.

Randidly sat on his skyisland, watching the sun grip the horizon and leverage itself slowly up into the sky. The blue only deepened as it made its ascent. Shades and color bowed before it. Viewed in this manner, it struck him how powerful an image of the sun could be. It was a false perspective obviously; even with the shenanigans pulled by the System in the rearrangement, Randidly was pretty sure Expira still revolved around the sun and not vice versa. All movement was done by Expira itself while the sun watched. However, there was power even in false things.

He lowered his gaze to the conflux of significance that began to mix around the arena. Then he peered down further, into the bowels of Expira, where the Nether forges continued to churn out fragments of Nether Weight, more efficient than ever.

Randidly stretched out a hand and conjured his own Nether Weight, the appearance of those shadowy flames across his fingers causing the fabric of reality to hum. “With enough power, we really can warp the world how we want. However, Mrs. Hamilton, the question becomes... what exactly do we want? And will we be able to live with what we think is best?”

Randidly shook himself to dispel the mood. Even if his insight into Nether allowed him to alleviate all the pressure in his Nether Core, the interviews with the losers still left him with a strange taste in his mouth. Perhaps it was the throughline of regret that they all held.

His own regrets inevitably began to bubble to the surface. His shoulders ached with the weight of choices not taken.

Again shaking himself, Randidly sent a message to Neveah, checking to make sure there was no change with the Patron of Feathers’ condition. Then he proceeded down from his skyisland to Tournament Island, immersing himself in the bustle of noise in preparation for the match. For this round, two matches would happen a day, so Alana and Kimpap in the morning would be followed by Paolo and Charlotte Wick in the evening.

Donnyton and their allies were currently hosting a parade, a massive sprawling mobile drinking extravaganza that was gradually making loops toward the arena. The delegation from Tellus and members of the Vulpis Squad and Heiffal’s army had similar gatherings, each working themselves up into a lather to cheer for their chosen representative.

Randidly found Tatiana in the small office box by their high seats above the arena. She looked up from several reports in front of her and sighed. “Well, if nothing else, you have made a killing in alcohol sales these past two months. And now that people have come here and had a taste, they want to order bulk shipments back to their homes, restaurants, and bars. You are now a majority shareholder in what will soon become the largest alcohol distributor in the Alpha Cosmos. We might need to set up branches on Tellus in the near future. We might need to expand our current operations even further.”

Randidly chuckled, wondering if he should suggest Ghostlite, a watered-down beer to be a part of his alcohol empire. Students at Kharon Academy could sneak it into their dorms and sip it while doing a bad job of keeping the noise down. But thinking about business reminded him of another task he wanted to address. He looked at Tatiana. Without him even having to ask, she shook her head and said. “We do have an hour and a half. But don’t you dare come back late. Keep things short, whatever you want to do.”

Randidly grinned. “I mean I would love to keep things short. Just depends whether the other party is willing to negotiate.”

*****

The water cooler glugged as Jane twisted the light blue handle and liquid came out into her small cup. Inwardly, she cursed the office manager for always purchasing these tiny paper cups. She cursed herself for always forgetting to bring in a water bottle. She brought the container to her lips and drained the cup without completely quenching her thirst. She could only lower the cup and wait to fill it once again.

“I don’t need rest,” He flashed her an irritated look and twisted away. He gripped the edge of the doorway and frowned, as though he considered breaking it. Jane always worried he was about to break something when he got that look. “I feel great right now. Shit, bring me a map. I bet I can hit another real estate gold mine if I just think a little.”

“N-n-not a meeting,” The secretary repeated. In Jane’s hands, she was shaking.

While patting the poor young woman’s shoulder somewhere between sympathy and exasperation, Jane aimed one of her sharp glances at Johann. “Johann, let’s be real. You are going to make a lot of money due to your foresight in buying the area around B’s Crossing-” Jane decided not to think too deeply about the fact that the whole reason he invested in the area was because he liked the food there. “-and that proves you have talent in this field. But this is Randidly Ghosthound, who owns Kharon and a controlling interest in Ghost’s shipping company. He has fingers in Donnyton and the Orchard, as well as every expedition that travels to Danger Zones or other worlds for rare materials. You need to be clear-headed about this. This is not a man who dabbles in speculation. If he reached out, he wants something.”

Even your father wouldn’t dare try and make a deal with Randidly Ghosthound. Jane thought inwardly.

“Do I look like I’m not clear-headed?” Suddenly, Johann’s eyes were filled with bitter antagonism. He jabbed his finger at Jane. “I’m so tired of you treating me like a child. You might have gotten away with this sort of attitude with dad, but I’m-”

“He didn’t arrange a meeting!” The secretary screeched, rocking everyone back on their heels. The noise felt impossibly loud in the cramped and brown hallway.

Everyone looked at her. After hyperventilating for a few seconds, she managed to string together a coherent sentence. “He- Mr. Ghosthound didn’t reach out to arrange a meeting. He’s here, waiting upfront. That’s why... I could only run, right? I couldn’t just... stay there in the room with him sitting on that couch... oh god...”

The secretary finally collapsed, pressing her head against the wood paneling of the walls. Jane reached out unsuccessfully, her hand wanting to continue comforting the young woman while the rest of her body was now transfixed. Her fingers groped air. Even more than his name, the rumor of his presence squeezed the group.

This time when Jane and Johann’s eyes met, they were in agreement. Both began to walk briskly back down the hall, toward the small waiting room.

As far as waiting rooms went, Ironwood Capitol had skimped on their perfunctory attempt. There was a desk at which the secretary was positioned, directly opposite the glass front doors. There was a bland painting of a vase of flowers above a small and poorly upholstered couch to the left. Squeezed between the couch and the wall was a slowly dying potted plant.

The room they walked into to face the Ghosthound had been transformed by his presence. The potted plant in the corner had grown into a twisting bean stock, creeping across the walls and ceiling until the room was more leafy foliage than wall. Thin tendrils curled out in every direction, with more spawning even as Jane took all of this in.

The painting had been every more warped: the subject matter still vaguely resembled what had been there previously, yet Jane felt briefly transfixed by the vase. Suddenly, the painting seemed to have been wrought of the life essence of Expira’s greatest painting talent. Several sprigs of lilac were tucked into that glass container. Just looking at it took her breath away.

The curl of the petals was achingly beautiful. Small motes of violet wafted somehow away from the painting, filling the room with a fresh smell.

The couch remained the same, which only served to make the muscular and athletic body of Randidly Ghosthound appear more out of place. Jane felt dizzy, looking at him. He wasn’t exactly handsome, only sharp and direct. He sat in a clean shirt and pants. Meeting his gaze was like jumping into an emerald firework above a frigid lake. A whooshing, rushing, shocking experience. For several seconds, she couldn’t breathe.

“Mr. Ghosthound.” Johann’s voice squeaked. “What... a pleasant surprise. Why... why don’t you come back to my office so we can discuss business?”

The Ghosthound’s mouth quirked up at the corner. “No need. Let’s just talk here.”