Chapter 2051

Chapter 2051

In the wake of Xershi’s display, a group of the most powerful Scrawlers met and conferred about the incident. It was announced that using a Scrawl on another Scrawler was within the bounds of the rules for the Ghosthound Grand Prix; it was specified that there be no limit on what objects be used as vehicles. That freedom was part of the joy of Scrawling.

Even other Scrawlers could be utilized.

Delilah was alarmed by this decision, but rather quickly some of the older students followed up with guidelines to keep the younger students from giving themselves de facto burns or tattoos from failed Scrawl-on-flesh attempts. For now, no one with a Skill Level under two hundred could try the advanced technique. Which essentially meant no one could do it.

Still, regardless of the future consequence this thoughtless action had caused, for now the entire student body worshiped his every word. And while they gazed at him, Xershi’s eyes remained fixed on her. No one stood within ten meters of her in the forum.

“Do you want power, D?” Xershi asked again.

Delilah sucked in a breath. She had seen Xershi and the boy shooting through the sky, too. And she had felt how much she held Vye back in the dangerous bits of exploration of the Danger Zones. And she didn’t want to be afraid of anyone any longer. “Yea. I want power.”

“Well then,” His mouth curled upward into an expression more generous than cruelty and more anticipatory than benevolent. The beginning of a wind stirred around the forum, but Delilah’s heart began to pound. The wind caressed her, tempting her forward. Yet she could already sense that this was just the beginning of a dangerous storm brewing above.

She raised her eyes. The sky was somehow entirely clear. Her skin tingled as her senses simultaneously informed her nothing happened in the sky and also the wind twisted together to form a hammer about to descend.

“Let's begin,” Xershi said, his voice almost crooning. The air currents about Kharon began to shriek as he pulled and the wind came along with him.

*****

Randidly pushed himself out of his sleeping position. Nether gurgled happily in his chest, all the aches in his brainstem had been massaged away, and even the pulsing presence of grief had faded somewhat after his nap.

Randidly wondered how long it would take to fade entirely. But even still, the similar hole Helen had left in him continued to weigh on him. So he didn’t hold out much hope.

He felt both rested and rushed as he took stock of himself. He had made great strides forward to improve himself over the past few days, especially strengthening the density of the Nether he produced and firming up the foundation of his body, as he forced his way to finish the Hierarchy of Burden. His mind, too, had been honed to a complexity of inputs that didn’t come up often in an average person’s life, but Randidly seemed to be inundated with such circumstances that required a parsing of possibilities and incisive insight.

Yet his relationship with his mother remained completely unaddressed and compoundingly difficult, while the Patron of Feathers state continued to deteriorate-

Randidly grunted, still not sure how he felt about Fiona. Especially in the context of the other negative developments recently, it was tough to keep his sour mood from bleeding into other areas.

Still, she’s working. She’s trying. Randidly watched her for a while, her hunched shoulders and her inane straw hat. That alone is never enough to merit forgiveness. But it’s definitely the best place to start.

Randidly cleared his throat but didn’t comment on Fiona's behavior. “What about the other two? Are they behaving, images intact?”

Neveah waved a hand. “Xershi has weirdly attached himself to Delilah and Kharon Academy. Despite his personality, or maybe because of his immaturity, he’s surprisingly good with kids. They are getting a real crash course in how to manifest and maintain a powerful image. Pullas- after she went to Zone 1 and secretly weakened Fiona’s image plague, now has spent a lot of time with Tatiana. The two are apparently fast friends.”

“Good. Tatiana needs more people she can relax around,” Randidly said casually. Neveah gave him a sharp look, but he shrugged; the reason Tatiana needed those things is because he did, and she enjoyed a certain heightened level of prestige because of her relationship with him. No one understood that benefit better than he did.

Tsk, better not engage her on this, Randidly leaned back and looked up at the sky. She will just point out this is all the more reason to forgive Fiona, someone who I can consider a peer.

Instead of allowing that conversation to pass, Randidly said. “So the image plague has been handled?”

“Essentially, but not totally,” When Randidly quirked his eyebrow, Neveah shrugged. “People are strange. A group has established what is essentially a convent for people to infect themselves. Following the lead of Lucifer, a lot of dissatisfied individuals have tried it, to jumpstart their image development. Apparently facing their taboos is rather motivating. They’ve developed some methods to weaken Fiona’s image, and some personal immunity, so people recover eventually. But for now, the possibility of another outbreak still exists.”

Randidly cracked his neck. “A lot of desperate people, huh.”

“I prefer to think of it as a lot of people who are finally realizing you didn’t exaggerate when you told them how dangerous the Nexus could be,” Neveah responded. “This is a good thing, even if their methods are them playing with fire. Wouldn’t you do the same thing, if you felt an urgent need to grow stronger?”

Randidly couldn’t remember the last time he didn’t feel an urgent need to grow stronger.

While his mind drifted on that troubling realization, Neveah pulled him back. “So? Are you going to forgive Fiona?”

Randidly closed his eyes. “Right now? No, of course not. Give me... a bit more time. Let’s see what sort of crops she can grow first. How about this- I’ll arrange for a dinner with the Ascension Pact members, here at your place if you are willing to host, in twenty-four hours. I’ll make my decision then.”

“So you might not forgive her,” Neveah scowled at him. “Tsk, can’t you feel how contrite she is? Look at that dumb hat? And what, are you just going to kick her out anyway?”

“No,” Randidly turned away. “This is about forgiveness for behaving recklessly on my homeworld. I don’t need to let that go to work with her to climb in the Sonara.”