Chapter 1981

Chapter 1981

The night after the fight, when most of the audience members were still partying through the Tournament Island one last time and the two competitors were still recovering from their injuries, Charlotte Wick limped her way to the house of Randidly Ghosthound. He saw her coming a long way off.

He had predicted her coming, even during the fight.

Randidly grinned as she walked up to him on the roof, just the two of them exposed underneath the wide expanse of stars. He moved away the clouds and revealed the natural wonder of the cosmic environment above them, made all the more stunning by the fact that he didn’t even know if it was real anymore, with the creation of the Alpha Cosmos. There were definitely some bright celestial bodies that corresponded to some of the other planets he had absorbed, but he hadn’t generated a sun to fuel life on these planets, at least not consciously.

And beyond that, the sky was filled with tiny pinpricks of light. Were their sources all contained within his body? Would he need to literally explore in order to find out? He might have superhuman powers, but travel was still inconvenient.

No matter what the source, it was a tapestry of wonder laid above them. But since it functioned without any problems, Randidly’s curiosity wasn’t enough to pull him from his other tasks.

“You should rest,” Randidly observed as the bear woman swayed and barely managed to catch herself. Walking up the stairs to the roof had left Charlotte trembling. It wasn’t physical weakness that afflicted her, but the steady collapse of her Aether foundation now that she ripped up her stitched together Primal Force. With time, and probably copious exposure to pure Aether, she would rebuild herself. However, tonight was a bit too quick for her to be moving around.

Her image remained a hollowed-out corpse. The pressure of the Nether flows around Randidly, which he purposefully maintained at their usual force, was not easy for her to withstand.

Combined with the strain of her own new Nether Weight settling into her body, resonating with the significance she already possessed-

“I needed to speak with you as soon as possible,” Charlotte spoke in a single breath. If she felt the pain that she should be feeling, it didn’t show on her neutral face. She sucked in another breath and steadied herself. “Because what I want to say concerns the challenge against you. I would like to bow out; please allow someone actually from the Alpha Cosmos to compete.”

Randidly leaned his chin against his fist. His eyes glittered. Significance swirled between the two of them, so familiar in its shape he felt the specter of grief settle on his shoulders. He did his best not to acknowledge it. “The reason?”

Charlotte settled down onto her knees. She trembled the entire time, struggling to keep her torso upright. She met Randidly’s gaze from her lowered position, pride and raw desire in her expression. “I’d like... to be the next Knight of the Ghosthound. As such, it wouldn’t be appropriate for me to fight against you in the challenge.”

Randidly felt his First Authority stir. A hand squeezed his heart. That ugly and possessive part of himself rose to the surface, aiming to dominate the world entirely and obliterate his sorrow. The Stillborn Phoenix stretched out its hunger toward Charlotte to accept this offering but he cautioned his image back. For several long seconds, he simply studied the kneeling bearwoman. “What makes you believe you have the qualifications to fill that sort of role?”

For the first time, Charlotte smiled with obvious relish. “You saw that last attack in the tournament, yea?”

“And how long will it take until your wounded ass can produce it consistently?” Randidly’s smile stretched into a mocking grin. Something feral twisted his features with glee as he studied Charlotte, rifling through her images and significance. The significance tightened around the two of them.

Her face fell. Yet she remained determined as she lowered herself down and pressed her forehead to the ground. “No one else is better suited to the role than I am. I have won the tournament. I’ve trained for this. You... I admire you more than you know, Randidly Ghosthound. The fact that you defeated my ancestor only makes me more sure I want this. As your Knight, I will fight your enemies to my last breath.”

Randidly leaned back in his chair. Truly, if Charlotte could create a whole image around that red light and produce it reliably, she would probably be more powerful than Raymund Ballast. Of all his current allies, probably only Claudette Beigon and Edraine were reliably stronger. “...setting aside the issue of your suitability, what makes you believe such a position is necessary? What you can do, I can do better. That position... was only created due to Helen. It is not something I need.”

“No matter how powerful you become, there will be greater and lesser threats vying for your attention,” Charlotte continued to speak with her forehead pressed to the ground. “Having a reliable subordinate to clear out the debris will only benefit you. Helen may be the first, but she doesn’t need to be the last.”

Randidly’s eyes became almost neon. That feral possessiveness of the First Authority surged in his chest as he prepared for his next question. Drops of cruelty rolled off his tongue. “I can’t deny that I wish to have more time for my own projects. However, do you truly covet this role? You recall what happened to my previous Knight. And I cared deeply about her. You... will always just be a replacement. A convenient fit. A tool that will likely meet just as horrible and pained an end as she did. The foes I will fight against will not become kinder.”

With one extra, and very opinionated, individual.

“Kayle would be the ideal victor,” Azriel observed. “In terms of usefulness, his penetrative image will fulfill a much-needed role in the time.”

“Isn’t Drake’s image somewhat similar?” Paolo waved a hand. “That fucker buzzed around with a sword of pure light. We don’t need Kayle.”

“His image is unrelated to that power- it is Drake’s emotional affect and the strange incorporate of his Fate that manifested in such a way.” Azriel frowned at Paolo. “Besides, the others are even more useless. Wolfram’s image is based on the Ghosthound’s capabilities, without his thematic power. Allowaen is a Chimera, based on the Ghosthound’s other image. Her body is shaped to be similar to his. Meanwhile, Illdan is a short-sighted child-”

“Please, be more respectful of the Spearman Reborn,” Kimpap made a face, somehow managing to convey both sarcasm and a fierce defense of the young man. “He is the future of Tellus. Or have you completely abandoned your homeworld?”

“It holds little emotional value to me,” Azriel retorted. “And unlike certain groups, I have no desire to monopolize power and suppress the average individual in order to maintain an outdated lifestyle.”

“Now, now,” Hong Li smiled around at the group and raised his hands placatingly. “Let’s not fight over a future that might not come to pass. Observation will bring us naturally to the truth, so long as we wait. And who knows? Perhaps the winner of the competition will surprise us. Maybe even enough to give us a new perspective.”

“Yur such a flower fart,” Hank snorted. Alana’s eye twitched; he was clearly still bitter about his loss. Hong Li just responded with a smile and took a sip of his tea.

“Wasn’t there another purpose for the meeting?” Paolo looked around at the group. “To actually discuss fighting against the Ghosthound? Let’s get to it, then. Before we start wondering how well we would have faired in the other side of the bracket.”

Kimpap shrugged. “Is this really necessary? I have seen the Ghosthound’s powers and truly the breadth of his capabilities makes him a monster. However, he is just one man. With the eight of us working together-”

“You have seen his capabilities manifested separately,” Azriel clicked her tongue. “Yet what makes the Ghosthound special is that he will be doing each of those things, all at once.”

“Are you kidding me? The mental energy required to mobilize even two images, let alone harmonize three manifestations while somehow working in Nether into his attacks-” Kimpap started off speaking with a laugh, but as she looked around, she noticed Hank and Paolo’s grim expressions. Even Hong Li’s unshakable smile had lost some of its cheer. Kimpap blinked several times.

“The kid’s a monster,” Hank shrugged. “While being essentially indestructible, to boot.”

“Obviously, it will be difficult, but there is some hope. His manifestation of his Nether Storm clearly reveals he has a glaring weakness.” Azriel continued. “One we can exploit.”

Paolo tilted his head to the side. “Alana mentioned this, but I don’t really get it. What do you mean, you can see a weakness?”

Alana leaned forward and spoke slowly to the group. “At first, I was similarly skeptical. But I’ve watched it closely during the last few matches of the tournament. And I have to admit that Azriel might have a point. It is unnaturally still; whereas the rest of his emotions flow smoothly, these are unnaturally held stiff and preserved.”

Kimpap frowned. “And you can see it?”

Azriel grinned. “Of course. His problem is the eye of the storm. Perpetual stillness, right in the middle of all that swirling energy. Obviously, there are physical reasons for actual storms to possess an eye, but a Nether Storm follows very different rules. In this case, Randidly’s emotions toward his Grey Creature image. He refuses to let it stir too directly; so far as I can tell, there are emotions there he doesn’t want to disturb or examine. Attacking this weakness directly will give you a chance. The rest will be up to you and your teamwork.”