Chapter 2356

Chapter 2356

For the second time in ten seconds, Randidly and Vualla were pressed close together, their faces inches apart. Only now, blood dribbled down Acri’s shaft and fell between them.

The new harsh lines on Vualla’s face didn’t vanish, but some of them eased as energy seeped out of her due to the deep wound he had inflicted on her image. Her eyes struggled to focus on him. “Is your brand of violence... really that much superior to mine?”

“At the very least, it’s not in service to a hollow ideal,” Randidly grunted, ignoring the satisfied cackle from the Dread Homunculus.

At the words, Vualla’s eyes flashed. Those poisonous barbs running along the edge of her new image twisted around and shot toward Randidly and his images. Clearly, she had given up a victory here and instead aimed to annihilate a portion of his power in petty revenge. The Homunculi released a trill of pleasure; Randidly just shook his head and closed his eyes.

Ghosthound’s Cloak of a Thousand Lightless Horizons. Hungry Eyes, Hollow Heart, Cadence of Tragedy. Dawn Opens the Sky and Reality Stirs.

Congratulations! Your Skill Ghosthound’s Cloak of a Thousand Lightless Horizons (GD) has grown to Level 1125!Rêạd new chapters at novelhall.com

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Congratulations! Your Skill Dawn Opens the Sky and Reality Stirs (T) has grown to Level 1030!

Consequences and small details clattered against one another as Randidly held his image back. Vualla’s desperate stabs crossed all the intervening distance and were about to pierce into his body... but then Randidly moved as the circumstances finally came into alignment.

His images manifested so quickly that the dangerous stingers of Vualla’s image seemed frozen in comparison.

First came the darkness, that cloak of utter night, rewoven to be entirely Randidly’s. That tide of darkness swept out and smothered the poisonous barbs of this alternate Vualla. It was the void of oblivion, the regrets and emptiness of the lives Randidly had taken, all the weight of exhaustion he carried, curdling slowly in deep space. Vualla’s barbs didn’t stand a chance. New and flashy this image might be, but it couldn’t handle the implacable oblivion of the original darkness.

Yet the first image was just the beginning. From that darkness, the Hungry Eye opened. A shiver went through the rest of the universe as it prepared for a monster’s descent. The eye gulped down all the small details that would weaken or fray that perfect pattern it aimed for.

For a moment, there was peace, as the eye closed and allowed the darkness to settle. But Randidly’s powerful move didn’t end there. His sea of darkness bubbled and bulged, struggling in a way it had not for the suppression of Vualla. Increasingly powerful reverberations rippled outward until the darkness began to rip.

Yet instead of a beast, what came out of Randidly was the searing light of dawn. A vast, golden orb exploded from the darkness, reminiscent of the big bang. Rays cut open the suppressive wall of darkness and shot out in every direction. Randidly focused, peering through the halos and interactions around him. All his seething emotional sea drained into these blasts of image light. They stabbed with all the proficiency that he could wield his spears. Not only was Vualla’s image suppressed, devoured, and then pincushioned, but hsi attacks extended beyond that.

Across the battlefield, the images of the Xyrt Brigade members suffered and died underneath the bombardment of light. Dawn might not possess the sinister edge of Dusk, but no other force in the world could replicate the transformative power of a new day arriving.

All the force he gathered seared through his body and exploded out. The pure light of dawn burned out, leaving Randidly almost completely exhausted. He could only grimace. Even for me... well, fighting the whole Xyrt Brigade is a little much.

Still, that last blast of image had been enough.

Fighting ceased as the Upper Sonara Society took steps backward and the Xyrt Brigade members swayed and succumbed to their wounds. As one, they looked up toward Randidly as he floated. The last lingering notes of golden light and heavy darkness faded around him. He looked at Vualla for several more seconds, examining the withered and twisted creature she had become, in a life without their shared dream. He tried to think of a way to save her but stopped himself.

This was your choice. Randidly turned away.

A flash from the USS blessedly distracted from this small ‘reunion’. The individuals had set up the pillars and were beginning to flood them with energy, which both caused the Engravings to glow and also carved connecting Engravings into the space around them. Neveah’s consciousness brushed up against Randidly’s as she stared intently at the working.

...Tch, you might be the splashiest, but you aren’t the only one with the idea to subvert the System, Neveah observed. Just based on the shape... it’s trying to hack into the central System... and flood people with notifications. Genuine notifications. Not only that...

Randidly blinked slowly as he pieced apart the Nexus infrastructure triggered by the notifications. It’s the offer for individuals to become Patrons. To almost everyone in the Nexus. But considering how restrictive and exploitive the conditions are-

From your perspective, Neveah pointed out. Bright lights arced out from the base of the pillars, rapidly filling a space the size of a city block with complex interactions. Energy began to pulse and flow along these veins as the Engraving sought to complete itself. Yes, powerful individuals have their images very obviously copied and put to work feeding into the next generation of individuals. It is a hassle, to be bothered by weaklings wanting to borrow your power. The isolation the System requires But if every citizen became a Patron...

Both Randidly and Neveah looked closer at the shaped Aether. Randidly’s eyes glowed.

Congratulations! Your Skill Emerald Eyes and Dove Whispers Certify the Objective (GD) has grown to Level 1510!

Congratulations! Your Skill Truth Within the Primordial Flux (GD) has grown to Level 1075!

As a Patron, they won’t be subject to the same Aether as the rest. A special allotment is set aside for the Patrons, who cultivate the next generation. Randidly finally said. Anger began to build in his chest as he saw the shape of these developments. They draw on a different lake of Aether- but if even a fraction of the average citizens jump ship, the entire System will collapse. That allotment will run out. But not before most of these new Patrons die of Aether Deprivation-

It will be close, but perhaps not. Not if you support them, Neveah observed. Then she sighed. Besides... compared to the Nexus... without the capabilities you possess, you have to admit is at least a creative plan. No one ever expected the dismantling of the Nexus to be without consequences. With a few adjustments to the Engraving, I believe it is possible to minimize the risks.

Neveah manifested next to him. She touched Randidly’s shoulder. “I will see if they listen to my advice. Recover; your Fatepiece manifesting like that has left you drained.”

Randidly nodded but then paused. He raised his head and peered at Neveah, noticing the slight tension in her shoulders and the way that she avoided his gaze. “...hmmm? Neveah, why is it that you seem vaguely guilty? What have you been up to?”

“I have no idea what you are talking about,” Neveah lied.

Before Randidly could dig through their Soulbond and investigate this strangeness, a portal manifested just outside the bounds of the circle of pillars. A manifestation of Yggdrasil flared into existence, its powerful roots digging into the ground and preparing for the fight he had expected since his arrival.

Yet...

Only two individuals stepped out of the portal. Randidly recognized them both.

“Ha! Finally, nephew. Your long period of undercover espionage is over,” Tuthak Eloise undulated forward toward Nathaz Eloise, an individual with whom Randidly had cooperated in the past. He pivoted and waved at Randidly. “With this, our grand ritual can be directly plugged into the Overlay System. As such, it will be that much more difficult for the forces of the Nexus to stop the process. Our chances of success just keep on climbing!”

Yet Randidly hadn’t looked away from the second individual, a young woman Randidly hadn’t met or spoken to or even thought about in a long, long time.

“Randidly Ghosthound.” Lyra Silver curtseyed. Her lips didn’t curl, her eyes didn’t twinkle, and none of the playful barbs he had grown to expect from her were present. “What a pleasure to be working with you again.”

After the earlier farce of a ‘tearful reunion’, this one slammed Randidly in the gut.