Chapter 2290

Chapter 2290

Faelmac Westrisser squatted over the grand array he had created, watching time twist and layer itself into a tight spiral. The dagger that sat in the middle of the array rattled back and forth, almost like it knew its fate and attempted to avoid being any more afflicted with the poisonous embrace of time.

“Soon,” Westrisser whispered. His wings fluttered softly. Even from afar, he could feel the horrifying violence of the clash between Aether and Nether forces to the South. They needed this weapon.

But genius could not be hurried. And no matter how much excitement bubbled in the feathered serpent’s chest, for finally having proof his theories were correct, he could not get ahead of himself. Before results came the toil.

“Soon,” He said again, his eyes lifting from the dagger and going to the portal into the Dungeon. At this moment, he wondered how long his daughter had experienced. Longer than any other had attempted while maintaining their sanity.

He had never felt more proud of his daughter.

*****

Randidly’s feet touched down on the ground to the North of Homewell, where Neveah had erected her quaint little cottage. He glanced around. Just looking, the area still seemed peaceful. Her small garden hadn’t been disturbed. Towels and dresses had been left hanging on the clotheslines, fluttering in the disturbed air. One window was still propped open.

Any minute, it seemed like she would return and the idyllic lifestyle here would resume.

The only hints of the apocalypse on the horizon was the soft rumbles Randidly could feel through the soles of his feet and the way battle dyed the sky orange-red, with those violent hues dripping and tainting the ambiance.

He sucked in a deep breath. He could feel his new Deity’s Ruthless Cerebral Scope beginning to show some of its benefits, as a part of his attention split off from the current task and began gathering up threads of kinetic force, pointlessly decaying in the atmosphere. Yggdrasil took that energy and processed it, feeding it into the parched expanse of Randidly’s body. And it was a testament to the rich energy the Patron of the Deep released that the energy felt cheap and oily as it seeped into him.

Every bit counts right now, Randidly hummed to himself as he walked around the back of the cabin.Discover new chapters at novelhall.com

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Behind Neveah’s quaint little setup, with its windows humming with the distant collisions, the Nether Arbiter sat in a lotus position and stared into the middle distance. Randidly slowed as he walked up, not wanting to disturb her. The sky above popped and fizzled, their location just far enough away from the danger to feel like all the hints of doom were just ash, drifting down from a dazzling fireworks show.

Neveah would be infinitely more suited to this task, but he also needed humanity to be created, even in the memory. He suspected the echoing implications would reach into the Alpha Cosmos, especially considering his heavy hand in the process. Due to the... alterations he had made, humans should have an easier time evolving Stats going forward. That was a benefit worth a little extra effort now.

Besides, his new theory for the Stillborn Phoenix and his ability to help others transform themselves gave him a little bit of extra leeway. With the clouds of his own worries cleared, he could show some empathy for Lowanna.

“Although they might be abstract,” Randidly began slowly. “And often, they end up being a constant strain on our attention and energy... we can’t afford to let go of our core motivations. I know better than anyone else how easy it is to lose yourself in the motions and sensations of action. But action without structure becomes chaos.”

“Life is chaos,” she countered. “Sure, Nether bonds and Aether shape provide some amount of structure, but that is on a small scale. Those tiny little arrangements tumble through the universe without affixing themselves to anything lasting.”

“I believe life is perspective,” Randidly rubbed his chin. To his surprise, he found himself drawing some sort of mental sustenance from the conversation. His psyche bloomed, his full mental capabilities coming back into focus. So he allowed his thoughts to unspool without hurrying them. “As much as I rue the day that the Nexus arrived on my world— millions of people died in the first hour, probably trillions over the next month, I can’t help but... appreciate it. I was lost in my life. But underpinning all the violence and exploitation of the System is a simple truth: belief can alter the world. Once you begin to see the changes and shifts as following a grand pattern, it is.”

“You cannot expect me to believe that once you chose to follow this so-called ‘pattern’, you were never again surprised.”

Randidly leaned back. “Sometimes life catches me by surprise. But just because I don’t totally understand the pattern doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist.”

“You’ll spend your entire life chasing an impossible answer if you choose this Path,” Lowanna whispered with narrowed eyes. "An unknowable answer."

Randidly shrugged. “Maybe. That’s why people push for the PInnacle, yea? And the Nether equivalent. Or at least I assume so; for that brief moment, you force the pattern you’ve always chased into existence. And remnants of that achievement linger, even when you cease to be.”

For a brief moment, Randidly thought her tension would prevent Lowanna from seeing the method he had been trying to nudge her toward, from the moment he had asked her about the unifying principle of Nether. She opened her mouth, showing a vicious antagonism like she wanted to bite his answer in half, but then she paused. Her eyes widened.

She gave him a very long look, as though finally able to see the whole of him. She measured him carefully. “...you are a dangerous person, Nether King Hungry Eye. Do you— no, you probably don’t even know our history. The stigma on what you imagine is very clear. It is forbidden.”

“And now, any bond but Phaea is forbidden. There are always reasons, Lowanna. Often good ones. And I know that taboo might not be the same as this one. But I just wanted you to start seeing what I’m seeing. If not a pattern on a grand scale, one we are desperately clinging to in the immediate vicinity.” Randidly stood and brushed off his legs. “But I believe we were speaking about life. No matter how much we wish for it to pause and give us time to find the proper answers, it does not.”

“It will leave us behind,” Lowanna nodded in begrudging agreement. She gave him another glance quite like the first, measuring him, trying to ascertain his goals. “...the longer I know you, the more I wonder if it would be for the best if one such as you were left behind. Your ideas are dangerous. Your... perspective is transformative.”

Randidly was surprised by the thrill of pleasure that ran through his Fateset. His three Moiraes cackled with glee. His certainty about his second impossible attempt sharpened into focus. He struggled and couldn’t prevent a smile from breaking out. “So I’ve been told. But the trick is I could never have done most of this alone. It’s the people that choose to believe me, to see the world how I see it, that makes the difference.”

“Exactly,” Lowanna grunted. “You are seductive in front of a crowd. Not because you are trying to be convincing, but because you believe. You are right about the System, I’ll admit. I just think... well. The fact you have such pure belief is dangerous. But good luck, Nether Eye. I... need to think for a bit.”

Randidly smiled and turned away. Already, his mind raced ahead to the true thrust of the second impossible attempt. He was going to do what Elhume could not. He was going to make the memory... real.