Chapter 2011

Chapter 2011

Randidly cooked the fish, adding a sprinkle of salt, pepper, and paprika on top. When the side was well seared, he flipped the filet and looked over at the carrots. They sizzled pleasantly against the heated pan, so he brought over the lemon and squeezed out some juice on the vegetables for a bit of zest.

Next to him, Pullas told an abbreviated version, which Xershi had begged her to condense, of her life’s story.ViiSiit novelbi/n(.)c/(o)m for latest novels

In a way, Randidly admired her. If he had been asked where his images had come from, he wouldn’t really know where to begin.

“Both of my parents were powerful individuals from the Third Cohort. They knew each other from before the System arrived, so their love wasn’t shaken by the arrival of monsters and magic. If anything, it only made their connection stronger, as threats began to surround them on every side. By relying on each other, they were able to survive and thrive through the Calamities and claw their way into the Nexus. They began to build a private empire, relying on talent from my homeworld.”

There was a weird sort of momentum to Pullas’s word, one that tugged at Randidly’s attention even while he was cooking. The more she spoke, the brighter her eyes became. The ivory radiance she released seemed to curl at the edges, gradually becoming the shapes she described. Xershi groaned at the long-winded preface to the story, but it was more perfunctory than bored. Even he seemed to find her words compelling.

“Well, I’ll skip a bit about their business and political exploits, considering your short attention span,” Pullas shook her head, sorrowful at the quality and informative family history lesson that Randidly and Xershi were missing. “Suffice it to say, they were involved in many of the Orthodox Faction struggles during the Fifth Cohort, during the construction of the Sonara. When Elhume suddenly abandoned the project outside of the middle rings, they were taken completely by surprise. And if you know anything about the Nexus, it is that your enemies do not miss a moment of weakness.”

“Ah, so they are dead.” Xershi nodded. Then he seemed to freeze, realizing what he said. “Uhm, I meant that in a nice way. Like, I’m sure they died gallantly in a tragic final stand while defeating all their greatest foes.”

“Don’t- err... don’t worry about it. As an orphan, you get used to strange reactions. Although there was much less drama than that in their passing.” Pullas waved a hand. “Anyway, they didn’t die immediately in that attack. They survived, although grievously wounded. My father’s image was broken, the rest of him crumbling to follow. He could only onerously persist by meditating daily with my mother. Somehow, the memory of the way their images used to interact... it healed him. Or at least slowed his decay.”

Huh. That’s some powerful significance, Randidly mused. He produced some plates and wiped them clean with burning energy, because the food was essentially finished. If the remembrance of their bond was enough to convince his torn Aether it was whole again. They must have had a truly overwhelming love for one another.

Randidly rubbed his nose, thinking of the cooling connections he had possessed with romantic interests since the System arrived. His busy schedule and ongoing battle to overthrow Elhume meant he didn’t have much time to socialize, either.

“They followed a whisper down into the Shaft below the Nexus, hinting at a way to cure my father.” Pullas delivered her words matter-of-factly, but it was enough to cause Randidly to stiffen mid-plating. He twisted and looked at her with a solemn gaze. “Due to his deteriorating health, my mother insisted that they try every option. With time running out, Father could only acquiesce, leaving me in the care of their greatest subordinate. Obviously, they never returned.”

A whisper drew them down the shaft? Hinting at the power of a Penance to improve their significance even? Well, it likely would definitely strengthen the significance holding on to his last scraps of liveliness. But the issue is who would try and lure them down into the shaft. Perhaps it was an enemy of the family playing a cruel joke, but it’s also possible it was Solomon himself. Because if he did try to lure people down to hold his significance... Did he want them to make it? Would people without my Nether Core get sucked down, but land on the peaceful area on the horizon above that shadowy darkness?

Once they were down there, would Solomon just keep them there as long as they wanted to struggle? And time in the Nexus just kept going...Well, if it was Solomon, it is likely that he receives some benefit from its activation.

From the eleventh ring, they ascended all the way to the fifteenth before they encountered any trouble. This world was filled with strange, semi-translucent series of glass pillars. They varied in size and shape, with the ground sloping gently down toward the central stairwell.

When Randidly turned to head up the slow in the direction of the outside stairwell, his skin tingled. Very slowly, he pivoted back around and solemnly watched the owner of this ring rush toward their position. Already, an antagonistic image curled around their location. Rather than force his way through, he decided to wait and see.

An obsidian octopi, an enlarged version of the ones that Xershi had been loitering with in the first ring, swung its body from pillar to pillar in an incredible display of multi-arm dexterity. Its legs snapped out from its swinging pattern so that it buzzed into stillness like a guitar string, stretched between several pillars.

“Passsss...” It opened a dark opening in its body and released a hissing word.

Pullas’s expression brightened. “Oh! I actually know this being, although we’ve never met in person. Idylla has made an agreement with a lot of the owners of rings, giving them resources and news from the outside in exchange for safe passage. All we need to do is show our credentials and we can move safely through.”

“No pass, I eat,” The Octopi added, in what Randidly assumed was agreement.

“You contracted out this guy to eat people who didn’t stop in your stupid city? I though you were a coordinator, not a dictator.” Xershi’s eyes brightened. “Maybe your job is cooler than I gave it credit earlier.”

“I did not- ahem, all we agreed was safe passage when they had the proper credentials,” Pullas replied.

“No pass? Eat?” The Octopi tilted its undulating head to the side.

Randidly and Xershi looked at Pullas. She blushed. “Embarrassing as this is to say, I believe honesty is the best way to ensure I have the proper sort of death. Due to how... spontaneous the decision to join this group was, I... well, I didn’t bring anything with me-”

“Eating time!” The Octopi whistled and tossed itself up into the air. It rotated its body rapidly, all its leg blurring into a windmill spin.

Xershi rolled his shoulders. “Guess its time for me to shine again-”

“No, not this time.” Randidly interrupted. He stepped forward and looked up at the descending black disc. Its image of constriction and endless waves of legs lay heavy across the whole area. But darkness began to coalesce around his left eye and his hair turned emerald. “My images have a bone to pick with this guy. They want to challenge it to a legs contest and an eating contest. You two stay back; let me blow off some steam.”