Chapter 2209

Chapter 2209

If Randidly thought that it was painful to swallow a planet while he had neared his interior spatial limit, he was not prepared to force a needle to go through the imaginary hole in his Nether Core and be absorbed into his body.

A lot of the sensations were the same: the feeling of being filled to bursting, the pressuring aches through his whole body, the strange desperation of choking and being unable to do anything about it. With his First Authority holding only to the offending piece of statue, he just railroaded his body to flee before the encroaching reach of all those statues. All that same potent Willpower he used to open up the door now crumpled himself into a ball and stuffed it through the exit.

He slammed against a wall of himself as his Nether Core complained that the needle couldn’t fit. The Alchemist’s Passport could work wonders with his awareness, but his Nether Core noticed him trying to sneak in contraband. Randidly’s eyes blazed. He felt the possibilities laid out before him. Somehow, he knew it would be very bad to allow the hole in him to remain so swollen and open, with all those veins reaching for him. He needed to settle this quickly.

His options were to abandon the needle from the statue or to rip a hole in his Nether Core. Obviously, neither of those were palatable.

Randidly’s Nether Core seemed like a sun on the cusp of going supernova, spinning so quickly it became luminous and fiery. He looked decisively down at his Seize’d prize. The Third Authority, Intangible Burial. You have no size.

His Nether Core coughed and sputtered, but he immediately felt the burden lighten. He pulled as quickly as he dared, everything squeezing through the imaginary hole in the Nether Core, being refined by the process. This time, the size fit, but the Weight of the needle continued to be a burden. His Nether Core whined at the abrupt demands upon it. Randidly pressed his lips together and just shoved.

It only took a half second to force himself through, but those moments left him agonized and nervous. The needle carved a smoldering path through his psyche. With his last bit of awareness, he slammed closed whatever strange door he had made when he enlarged the opening in his Nether Core.

He found himself on the hillside in the memory with the Upper Sonora, the first sprinkles of rain hitting his face. Notifications popped up in front of him.

Congratulations! You have condensed your Second Authority: The Hollow Needle!

Warning! Unable to determine origin. Foreign entity detected-

Error, cannot follow security protocols-

Pantheon intervention. Recalculating...

The Hollow Needle: A profoundly meaningful tool, the second regalia of the Primordial Goddess Nyx. With both, user can channel some of her raw power into everyday activities. Effect of this is currently unknown. The Needle was used to sew together the Tapestry of the Sky as well as the Three Fates, who oversaw the lives and deaths of all mortals. Below the Pinnacle, none can rival the particular power wielded by this needle. With imagination, it is possible to create any sort of future you desire.

“Oh, err, I- well I mean my name-”

The guard standing on his knuckles came to the rescue of the flushing Colonel. “This is Colonel Domon Matteo. A man of below-average verbal ability, but rigorous virtue and honor on the battlefield. He has been tireless in the defense of Homewell. And is in charge of the minor offensives to prevent a larger Nether Ritual from cracking us like an egg. He welcomes you to Homewell.”

Devick smiled wickedly at the guard; this individual she liked immediately. And it was the strangest thing, but the aura around him seemed vaguely familiar to her. “And what about you soldier? Who might you be.”

“A nobody.” The Homid proudly announced. With delightful comedic timing, another Homid individual loped his way out of the gate, clutching a small pie in his arms. He addresses his fellow animatedly. “Moish! They were selling some of yesterday’s old pies for- oh, I’m sorry Colonel, I didn’t mean to interrupt.”

“No problem,” The Colonel said. By this time, his blush had crept up his pale skin until it reached the base of his blue-grey hair. He pivoted and smiled stiffly at Devick. “You have name too.”

It didn’t sound like a question.

“He’s really not so bad,” Moish said apologetically. “Not usually.”

Devick waved a hand. “Well, Moish the nobody, let me ask you this: what sort of individual are you? Surely not the type with too tight a fist to share a slice of your stale pie with weary travelers, here to reinforce the city.”

“If you are free, I can pie with you,” The words continued to tumble out of the Colonel’s mouth with no oversight from a brain.

Devick gave Moish a long look, as though to say, would you really leave me with this fool?

The Homid scrunched up his face. But in the end, he relented. And then relented again, to give her a second piece of pie when Devick dramatically wheedled him over how horrendously hungry her assistant Lowanna was. Lowanna rolled her eyes but remained silent as to where the pie was actually going to go.

Devick waited until they went inside the city to eat half of Lowanna’s piece, savoring the plundered treats. And it was only once they had been settled by an aide that she realized that the blushing, bumbling young man with blue hair wouldn’t just be around, but would be her commanding officer.

“Yup,” When they had set up in their new room, Devick struck a pose with arms akimbo. “I guess I really will be the one who needs to save the day here.”