Chapter 2410

Chapter 2410

The question spread further through the Alpha Cosmos, the main thrust again being deviated from Randidly to worries about the fallout.

Of course, the second beat of this instinctual reaction was from the critics. Randidly streaked across the skies, his lip curling as he drifted over radio and television stations. He observed harried-looking men and woman crossing out their previous programming and frantically gesturing to their news personalities to look at the teleprompter and pivot to this sudden story that had erupted.

Considering its origins and the uniformity of its presence, it was clear something had occurred. And even if they weren’t the most accurate, all of these outlets wanted to be the first to have an opinion on the topic.

Loud voices and table-slamming fists entered into the fray with bold enunciations. Especially in news originating in and around Zone 1, the pundits were especially harsh on Randidly. They complained about how irresponsibly he behaved in regards to the Alpha Cosmos, dragging them into all these horrible situations. How his own over-confidence and antagonistic nature constantly introduced new threats. Weren’t they still reeling from these Homunculi spawning across the Alpha Cosmos?

Yet now he had found some new foe to fight against, when he hadn’t yet done anything about the troubles in the Alpha Cosmos? Especially so soon after he unleashed an entire population of Nether-based beings in the wildlands...

“It’s not even a question of whether the Big Dog in the sky could fight against something like this,” A red-faced man flapped his lips toward a camera. “It’s whether he should, whether he has any right to make this decision for us. And I might just be a Level 62 Orator, but I believe the answer is an emphatic no. Stop asking us to pay your debts, Big Dog, in exchange for nothing in return.”

More organized, smaller pulses of negativity began to surge from different locations. Randidly jumped from meeting to meeting, sensing the predatory and calculating nature of these individuals. He watched them, his mood chilling every second.

A woman in a navy blazer and red blouse that screamed political candidate wrapped her knuckles on an oak table and glanced around at the people gathered there. “This is good. This is an opportunity to attack all of the pro-Ghosthound factions. Obviously, our main goal will be to get a foot in the door of the materials industry, but even if we just discredit his affiliates, we can build up momentum for the next election. Heh, and they say there is no such thing as bad press...”

At another location, a group rapidly made plans based on this night to try and convince young Classers to apply to their Order, rather than the prestigious Order Ducis. There were several burning pyres of negativity from ancillary educational institutions, urging their deans to write open letters to Randidly Ghosthound, cashing in on this fear in order to demonstrate a sympathetic philosophy. Even if not one the students would like, one that would catch the eye and attention of the guardians of the next classroom cohort.

Waves of consequences from his action spread out and Randidly quivered. He pressed and pressed, but his body and significance wanted to drift apart in a thousand directions. Neveah’s support helped, along with other small spots of support that began to emerge, but he couldn’t proceed like this.

With burning eyes, he turned his attention onto the Alpha Cosmos. We don’t have fucking time for this. Time is not fickle, and we are on a clock, people. I don’t want that thing swimming up toward Pine any longer than necessary.

So... if you won’t let me do this willingly...

But just as the Hungry Eye of the Songstress of Absence turned to the people of the Alpha Cosmos, a third wave of reactions arrived. The more considered began to come to their conclusions, and due to the flowing river of significance through the Alpha Cosmos, these stronger beliefs held a lot of sway.

In Kharon Academy, a thousand teenagers and young adults looked up and saw Randidly Ghosthound fighting against an eldritch horror in the night sky. Clouds marched to grapple with the ephemeral invader. The teenagers’ eyes sparkled, even as their thoughts merged into a nearly uniform single reaction. So fucking cool. Someday, that will be me.

The children of the worried parents from the first wave woke up, sensing the current of significance beginning to circle the world with increasing force. The details of the situation percolated down into their consciousness. And when that question alighted on their minds, as soft as a feather, the response was unanimous: of course, Randidly Ghosthound would win.

He always won.

He won against entire Zones, against the entire Alpha Cosmos.

He became a being who could fight and overcome the mandate of an Eternity.

The members of the Pantheon smirked and crossed their arms, not even needing to lift a finger to shift the outcome.

Randidly growled as he came back to his body. His Nether Core loosened up and began to accelerate. He grabbed the pieces of his body, he arranged his anchors, he crashed back into the present and felt like himself. Translucent significance rushed through his veins, grounding him and reestablishing his presence. He straightened and cracked his neck.

His skin burned, scraped raw by Pine’s presence. But Randidly suspected that to solve this problem, he would need to do more than just endure Pine’s presence; he would need to follow Laplace into the belly of the beast.

Congratulations! For surviving the experience of becoming a Legend, +1 Muse’s Reverie!

Muse’s Reverie is now at 7/7. Congratulations, Dreamer, you may now take another Reverie!

In front of Randidly, Elhume now glared at Fiero. Their little scene continued. “Do not act like your behavior is selfless; we both know your true motive in wanting to take these feelings from me; everything I have, you’ve always craved. You are hollow, Fiero, and you always will be. No matter how much you pour into yourself, this is who you are.”

Fiero growled. “Hollow? Ha, how rich, coming from you. No matter how much you’ve accomplished, you’ve never been able to stop and just be content with what you have. You must always build the pyramid of your life higher, no matter what you need to sacrifice to do it. I might have been hollow, but at least I was born that way. You’ve dug out and extracted everything of value, and for what? So you can be alone and obsessed with your son’s death?”

Elhume grabbed Fiero by his shabby vest. “My son is proof of what I’ve accomplished. That I can lead my people, that my wife loves-”

“Not to interrupt.” Randidly, now standing beside the two, patted their shoulders. “But why don’t we move you two to a safer location to hash this out?”

The Songstress of Absence crooned out oblivion. The two turned, too enthralled by their complex emotions to recognize the threat, and met her song without any defenses. Their expressions went blank as their consciousnesses vanished. Both collapsed to the ground.

Randidly cracked his neck again. He considered bringing the two into the Alpha Cosmos and having the Pantheon watch them but worried they would wake up and cause havoc. He produced the Alchemist’s Passport, needing quite a bit of focused attention to punch through the greedy rind that Pine’s presence created.

He unceremoniously dumped the unconscious bodies through to the Fifth Cohort Rally Station. Then he looked upward.

“Took me by surprise the first time, but I won’t let it happen again,” Randidly muttered. His focus shifted to Pangu’s Asymptote. “Nyx... well, I appreciate your support. I suppose you don’t want Laplace’s influence to spread any further. Is that why you helped me originally, when you provided the Cloak of Utter Night and the Hollow Needle? So, what can you tell me about the ways you can face an Eternity.”

Nyx smiled. By being an Eternity. Or...

Randidly grimaced, understanding without her needing to finish the sentence. He shook his head. “Just another day in the life. Well, fine. Let’s see what we can manage. Muse’s Reverie.”

Existence froze around him. The energy halos rippled and came into alignment. His awareness bloomed and expanded. With this opportunity, he needed to lay the groundwork for his third trick.