Chapter 2360

Chapter 2360

Gasping for breath, Devick pulled herself to the top of the moonrock spiral staircase. The fingernails of her left hand had torn away, but she had dragged herself up as quickly as she could manage. Her vision spun. For several seconds she could only sit at the top and breathe. Her body refused to cease shaking. All of her energies were drained to the minimum.

Her forehead knocked against the safe ground, but she couldnt move. She had almost died down there, without even noticing it.

Oh? Finally out?

Devick groaned and shimmied. After gathering a bit of momentum, she managed to roll off her belly and onto her back. Neveah stood over her, hands on her hips. Randidlys Soulbound companion waved with surprising cheeriness.

Y-you-! Devick panted; she couldnt gather enough energy for the vicious dressing down she intended to deliver to Neveah. But also, she couldnt vocalize her reasons for being so furious without sounding like a fool.

Ah. Neveah brought her hand to her mouth. Thats right! I knew I had forgotten something. I promised to help pull you out from his Visage of Obsession training, so you wouldnt just lose yourself, didnt I? Well, if you are only now belly-slithering your way out I suppose youve been immersed in that place for a little over four hours? With the additional time from the Engravings almost nine months. Oh my. What. A. Tragedy~. Then Neveah leaned forward, her expression still bright. But I bet this means youve learned your lesson about taking my words lightly, doesnt it?

Devick really had been in the hyper-demanding area of the Visage of Obsession, completely enthralled in the process of training. She hadnt paid any attention as the strenuous activities had withered her down to twig bones and paper skin. She had pulled and pulled on her energy, to the point that she had begun to waste away, without the stable connection to energy from Hungry Eye. Only when her body had begun to annoyingly fail had Devick bothered to ascend a bit, and check her condition.

She was lucky she had. Her body had begun to eat itself. Her brain would have likely been next.

Despite how returning to such a place certainly would mean her death

Devick flipped Neveah off. She pushed herself off the edge to tumble back down into the darkness of the Visage of Obsession. Even if she had been close to death, it was better than Neveah acting superior after tricking her-

Neveah grabbed her foot and dragged her back. Okay, okay, Im sorry. I shouldnt have been so condescending. But if you go back down there now, you really will die. I dont want to deal with Randidly being mopey because of it.

Devick grinned up at Neveah. You really think hed be mopey? For how long?

You are literally insane, Neveah sighed. She offered Devick a hand and the red-haired woman took it. So? How was it?

Devick smiled shyly. She raised a hand and the surrounding ground erupted with rose bushes. Neveah watched as the buds formed, swelled, and then shyly opened to reveal blood-colored petals. The sweet floral scent filled the air.

Devick reached out and plucked one of the nearby blooms. As soon as she touched it, Neveah felt a different sort of image moving. The color bled from the petals. The stem stiffened and died, the flower turned bone white and stunk of death.

So-so. Why, is something pressing happening outside of Hungry Eye's little pocket universe? Devick sniffed the pale flower. She grimaced. I suppose, this much will need to suffice for saving the world.

*****

It took a while, but Solomon Rex, because Randidly sensed the name Elhume truly no longer belonged to this being, ceased laughing. His lips quirked as he considered Randidly. So? How was it? The past me?

Rather pathetic, Randidly didnt bother to lie.

Solomon shrugged. Despite you being a distant descendant of my humanity, you have very little awe for me. Well, if you saw the beginning, if you saw the heights for which the name Elhume is lauded I suppose thats true. There is no word but pathetic for me. Especially considering how far Ive fallen.

I do have a question, Randidly said. Before we speak of the current world. A little clarification. So it wasnt you at all, was it? Who pursued Yystrix for those centuries, seeking to find her and use her.

No, it was not. In fact I only worked her identity out later, during the Fifth Cohort, by putting some pieces together about Elhumes movement. Solomon Rex frowned down at the ground. Definitely pathetic. You went to the end of the Second Cohort? By that time, I had already forgotten about Yystrix entirely. Fiero had taken the memory, when he still bore that name. He considered her- well, I suppose in a very real way, she was his mother. Fiero was born naturally from the universe, you know. A product of the Nexus. She was the first face he saw when he woke up. He wanted her, as he wanted everything, to be entirely his.

Randidly nodded slowly, at least understanding why Yystrix hadnt made herself known during the memory. He scratched his chin, his mind sorting through the details. Thats also why Elhumes attitude regarding the Nexus and Pine changed so suddenly. Whereas you wanted to give Pine the space to come into his own, he now seeks to kill him.

In a very real way, Fiero now inhabits a pathetic corpse. What he borrowed now weighs him down, Solomon chuckled, this sound much more gleeful and vindictive than the wide and hollow laughter he released before. I have very little pity for the bastard, but at least his actions make sense. He wishes to carve himself free of the Nexus, one way or another. But I cannot allow that to happen.

And you wish for my help, Randidly finally said. He stood straight and looked at Solomon Rex, after climbing to the point where he could meet with this powerful figure, this shaper of the Nexus and be at an advantage.

From the first day he had manifested in the Dungeon and almost been killed by a glancing blow, he had come a long, long way.

I seek cooperation. Solomon countered. Already, the posturing had begun. Although I am here, much power passes through this place. Elhume cannot attack this place easily; Pines corpse functions as a bomb because Ive gathered so much significance here. If he acts without caution, my tragic child will pop. And lead us all to oblivion.

He wants to escape alive, then, Randidly confirmed.

Solomon looked amused. Dont we all? Even you, Mister Ghosthound, who has a whole universe as a Soulskill. Quite intriguing.

Instantly, Randidlys gaze sharpened. So, what is it you want?

Cooperation. Simply well, the very universe I just referenced: Your Soulskill. Solomon spread his hands, a used car salesman selling a lemon. Not that I wish to possess what is yours, but this cold war with Elhume has meant I have had to be very blunt with my preparations even to my eyes, too much significance has been absorbed by Pine. He needs to be stabilized. I will help you defeat the current Elhume and in return, you will either accept Pine into your Soulskill or form a connection between it and the Nexus. That should stabilize my son for long enough for me to begin the process of reversing what he has become.

You are going to betray me, as soon as you sink your hooks into the Alpha Cosmos. Randidlys eyes blazed like little emerald pyres he didnt need a Skill to predict how this psychopath would act if he had the advantage. He felt a strong impulse to lash out right them, testing himself against the being now known as Solomon Rex, who had fallen to the bottom of the Nexus after a long career of borrowing the brilliance of another to succeed.

However, he could not, for the same reason that Elhume could not move easily against Solomon; looming behind this man was a mass of significance. Should that horrifying hunger destabilize and collapse-

But if I understand the way you react when other elements are present Randidly controlled his temper. But in his heart, the three Moiraes and the Alchemist looked at each other with knowing smiles. doesnt that just make you another ingredient for me to use?