Chapter 2223

Chapter 2223

Deep in Nether Lands far from the citadels of power, Randidly sat and meditated to both investigate and repair the damage done to the Stillborn Phoenix in his last fight. Even though the worst of the bleeding had been figuratively bandaged, the pain constantly wore on him. Neveah sat next to him, honing her own image in case any individuals approached.

She also worried, and did only a passable job of covering her dominant emotion up through their Soulbond.

Congratulations! Your Skill Soul Bond has grown to Level 904!

Sweat beaded on his temples and neck as the labor continued. The Dread Homunculus in his chest promised a swift end to any enemies that showed up while he was recuperating, but Randidly understood that the Stillborn Phoenix couldn’t afford any distractions right now. He let go of that responsibility, turning all of his attention inward. This was the area in which he was most needed and most useful.

A thorough investigation of the meaning, shape, and emotion of his Stillborn image quickly revealed numerous persistent problems with its current state. Right in the middle of a very emotional transition, as the shape migrated from a being that craved the impossibility of birth to genuine existence, the Nether Leader had struck and disrupted the most important shift. When the Sovereign of the Breathless Vigil’s strange name restriction ended and its labels snapped back into place, the damage was doubled; because the name Stillborn Phoenix also rejected the sort of transition the Egg of Depression sought.

So in the end, the emotions of the image were in disarray and the shape had been crunched by forces from both directions: both aspects of ‘image’ had been heavily damaged. The pieces large enough to retain their identity mostly related to hunger and consumption. And empowering those aspects had sparked a rapid, destructive cycle.

Randidly licked his lips. Bit by bit, he picked across the battlefield of his soul and salvaged as much as he could.

With Yggdrasil’s help, over the course of an exhausting few hours, Randidly refocused the emotions of the Stillborn Phoenix. The task turned out to be surprisingly easy; even after such a ruinous misstep, its desire to be born and devour hadn’t decreased at all. If anything, it had been strengthened by the perceived proximity to accomplishing its goal. The image simply needed to work through its indignation, fear, frustration, and desperation that lingered due to the constant pain. Randidly breathed slowly, sucking the distracting emotions out of the image, then releasing them into the world. The World Tree’s powerful roots radiated healing and peace.

As the pain departed, vacating his flagging consciousness, part of the transformation Randidly sought could begin. The Stillborn Phoenix scoffed at the peace offered, but rapidly solidified its emotional core once more. Almost happily, his emotional sea roiled and sloshed. The two Unborn cavorted around Randidly’s head in a distracting manner. In the end, the problem was its shape.

“You aren’t satisfied this way, any longer, are you?” Randidly whispered. The Stillborn Phoenix hissed out its agreement.

As though to emphasize that returning to its previous state simply as a black hole with an event horizon was impossible, the Stillborn Phoenix released its precious heartbeat. Neveah, never having experienced the abrupt stifling close up, gasped and whipped her head around. Randidly waved a hand to tell her everything was alright and simply savored the long moment of absolute silence and absence the image created.

Congratulations! Your Skill Hallucination of the Bloodless Heart (T) has grown to Level 830!

...

Congratulations! Your Skill Hallucination of the Bloodless Heart (T) has grown to Level 856!

Ah, a happy coincidence, that, Randidly hummed to himself as the silence passed and the image collapsed from the effort of exerting its will without a shape. A small shift occurred within that specific Skill, perhaps a harbinger of a larger transformation down the line. So the heartbeat becomes a gravitational anomaly; at least that's a good way to conceptualize its influence, make it concrete. The question is how all the other aspects now work together with this half-formed existence...

A black hole possessed a central point, the infinitely small opening that consumed everything in the horizon. It also possessed an event horizon, the place beyond which there was no return. It could certainly exert influence beyond those limits, but he felt slightly stumped considering how to bring life into alignment with the harsh realities of a black hole.

You awaken in your current existence to a Reverie of untapped potential and mystery, but with several powerful tools at your disposal! Please note: most of your abilities cannot harm others while in your Reverie. So long as you do not attempt to take away or destroy while in your reverie, only a moment will pass for all other existence!

Suddenly, the world snapped back into place around Randidly. He immediately knew could witness dense energy flows and patterns, likely the ones underpinning the memory. The whole environment was in constant motion, a constant song that made his Infinite Incendiary Filaments of the Dove Moirae look like a child’s kaleidoscope. He floated beside himself as a purely spiritual being. Neveah looked over at him in concern, her body frozen in place. His ‘vision’ possessed a green tint, as though the colors of his irises had now become context lenses.

All these details were gathered and acknowledged in an instant; his comprehension truly felt limitless.

Behold, the glory of the Alchemist! In your current mode, you cannot be perceived even by individuals who have glimpsed the Pinnacle! Perhaps their existence is a paradox, to exist within possibility and seek to break the bindings of existence and open up impossibility, but certainly their questions inevitably lead to the unusual. While in your Reverie, you will possess all five of your points. Points will be spent activating your various Fatepieces. After five minutes, one minute for each Muse’s Reverie (MR) point gathered, you will be returned to mundane existence even if you have not spent all of your points.

The potential you now hold is fleeting. All inspiration passes, leaving only a hollow remnant in its place. Do not hesitate, while you have stumbled across the gates to truth.

Immediately, Randidly could feel the five points of Muse’s Reverie, floating inside of his spiritual body like tiny torches. Simultaneously, the edges of his body began to fray; the countdown had already begun. More notifications continued to pop up in front of him.

For each Fatepiece you have earned in your journey, a special role has been created. While most activations of your Fatepieces will cost only a single point of MR, certain actions may cost more.

One by one, his Fatepieces came into existence, floating around him in a lazy circle.

For your Alchemist Passport, the ability to travel through space and time. Please note: if you choose to travel to the future, that will cost significantly more MR. If you travel beyond any temporal barriers, it will cost more MR.

For your Dreamcatcher of the Long Night, the ability to incorporate certain aspects, individuals, or moments within a perfect frequency of the Fatepiece. These frequencies will be saved. The frequencies then can be accessed at any time. It is possible to use its energies to pause one aspect of reality for a short time, so long as the target is in agreement. Without the activation of another Fatepiece, it is impossible to remove these frequencies from the Dreamcatcher. Please note: adding larger spaces or intelligent life to the Dreamcatcher costs more MR.

For your Visage of Obsession, the strange, overwhelming ability to forcefully adjust the flow of time on an object. Rewinding and fast-forwarding are possible. In addition, please note that there will be a lingering effect for all those touched by the Visage of Obsession. Your presence will have marked them, slightly increasing their potential in the future.

For your Hierarchy of Burden, the rare ability to affect the current world while riding the high of inspiration. By unleashing the spatial forces of the universe’s edge, you can directly damage an opponent without their knowledge. WARNING: If you activate the Hierarchy of Burden within Reverie, all remaining MR will be consumed to fuel its activation. It is very unlikely to inflict fatal damage against powerful foes. However, very few defenses are available against this sort of attack.

For your Codex Hexahedron, you have gained the smallest alley into the soul of another. Effects weakened based on the incompleteness of the Fatepiece. You may activate the Codex targeting objects, weapons, or even intelligent lifeforms. If you target an intelligent lifeform, you have a brief window with which to view their thoughts and memories. Certain truths are more difficult to ascertain, based on the target's mental training. Also, the cost in MR increases as the differences between the user and target increases.

The effect of the final Fatepiece is hidden!

Randidly blinked several times. Ability to move through space and time, ability to freeze, copy, even remove... the Sixth Fatepiece, whatever its main focus will be, likely grants the ability to paste a copied element back into existence.

Randidly’s gaze sharpened as the possibilities danced in front of him. However, he had to move those thoughts to the side: for now, he had three minutes and fifty-two seconds left to take advantage of these abilities.

What should he do first?