Chapter 2447

Chapter 2447

For a long second, Randidly and Laplace stared at one another.

“This place will fall.” Laplace hissed, the intensity of the words causing a few spurts of blood out of the wounds to its eyes. Randidly tightened his grip on Acri and shoved the plant spear just the smallest margin forward, ignoring the rumbling feedback from the frozen time within the Eternity.

A small retaliation, but it also gave him a small amount of time to consider.

He felt the dangerous subconscious roiling above and knew he would need to act. If anything, Randidly’s passage up through the waves of the dead had only made him more wary of what existed within the twisted psyche of the Nexus, lurking amongst its near-infinite dead. Obviously, his Vessel was more than enough to withstand the darkness of the Nexus washing over him. And Randidly probably had methods to severely limit the fallout from such a detonation.

Tsk, of course Elhume still somehow finds a way to cause trouble. Ranididly’s eyes flashed upward. He structured the Nexus this way in order to prevent Pine from degrading too quickly; even the darkness was recycled and used as a buffer. Yet now that so much time has passed, that darkness will kill Pine just as surely as it previously saved him...

Yet two facts twisted Randidly’s face into a grimace. First, the disposition of the dead themselves. They wouldn’t do much damage at first, but he knew that those powerful figures who had been dead for a long time would affect the living. They wouldn’t be able to help themselves, so long bubbling in the wicked cauldron of desires. These souls were tainted water being dumped into a creek. Downstream, the sickness would spread.

Secondly, Randidly didn’t trust the machinations of Pangu, and couldn’t help but show his teeth as he thought about all those reflected dolls waiting on the upper portions of the tower of the dead. It was quite possible the eventual rupture of the concentrated subconscious was part of another plot.

Honestly, Randidly was sick of plots.

Congratulations! Your Skill Lethal Tide of Amenonuhoko (GD) has grown to Level 1654!

The ceiling of the chamber continued to disintegrate as the fat eye of all Pine’s dead weight gazed down at them. Even the churning forces around their confrontation began to distort underneath its pressure.

It was literally a massive sphere of darkness and death. It grew rapidly, filling up half the split ceiling after only a few seconds.

Randidly needed to stop the situation from destabilizing further, but he also was unwilling to take a step back, now that his Grand Fate grappled and mixed through the body of the Eternity. He huffed out a breath. “I suppose this is where I put my money where my mouth is. I talk about all those who support me... but I need to give them a chance. So-”

Randidly unleashed a reverberating noise and felt the response immediately. Communication out became easier, due to the tear Laplace had made in this sacred location. A few seconds crept past. From where she had been observing the continued clash with the surviving remnants of the Vulpis Squad, Charlotte Wick blazed like a meteor and crashed down right outside the kinetic bubble Randidly supported.

“You called?”

*****

Charlotte had been hoping with all her heart when she heard the call.

Hoping they would win and overthrow the tyranny in the Nexus. Hoping the wounds in her heart would cease bleeding and give her a moment of peace. Dearly hoping that their battle would not require more sacrifices in order for the day to end in their victory.

Hoping she would have one more shot to prove herself, to earn her title as the Knight of the Ghosthound. Wishing her arms would cease shaking, drowned in exhaustion and anxiety. Yet just as forcefully she hoped she would not need to prove herself further. Even as the air changed and the air buzzed with tension, she hoped.

She felt too tired to face the complexities of her heart.

And maybe she could.

From the crackling, buzzing battlefield, there was a brief second of silence. Then an object arched out and rolled to Charlotte’s feet. “You will need to stand as the central pillar, but you won’t need to stand alone. I think... I made a mistake, when I accepted you as my Knight. Not in my choice, but in the structure of what I was offering.

“In the end... I am not the important aspect. Heh. I am the Legend sitting in the periphery of the sagas you will create, the liege who lays upon you the geas of a quest, but I do not drive its development. No, Helen was always the one who breathed life into every aspect of the role. So take her last gift to me, because it should be yours to wield. Because it is the weapon that takes a bold Knight to wield.”

Charlotte looked down in wonder at the swirling ball of liquid metal in front of her. Yet as though sensing her gaze, the strange shifts calmed down until a heavy crimson gauntlet lay before her. Each joint radiated an aura of solidity and power. Gems sat on the knuckles of the four fingers, three of them pulsing with a steady light. The pressure in the room was incredible, but Charlotte felt curiously isolated as she knelt down and picked up the gauntlet.

The metal was almost hot to the touch. But she felt an instinctive connection to the gauntlet.

A split second later, another object clattered and rolled to follow the first, still steaming from its passage through the storm of forces. This one was an ancient-looking horn, carved of aged wood with golden veins running across its length. Charlotte Wick slipped her left hand into the gauntlet and picked up the horn with her right.

Charlotte felt a tingling sensation from both, as new doors opened for her.

As the Ghosthound continued, his voice seemed to hum out of the two objects passed to Charlotte as much as it came from his warped silhouette. “I name you Knight of the Tide, the figure who will follow in the wake of the Ghosthound. In my absence or indisposition, I hope that my Heralds will follow your lead as they would my own. My messes are your messes. My victories are your victories. When you are overmatched, do not flinch. Because behind the tide is the whole ocean. And the dreams of the Alpha Cosmos will lend you aid when you need them most.”

Notifications began popping up in front of Charlotte.

Congratulations! Incorporating outside influences...

Recalculating...

Congratulations! You have bonded with a Unique Item! You have bonded with the Gauntlet of the Tide (U). A powerful artifact formed from the deft touch of Randidly Ghosthound and the potent remnant wish of his first Knight. All Stats +200.

As the owner of the Gauntlet of the Tide, you have gained access to the Skill (Fusion Domain) Helen’s Sea, Cradle of Unlikely Lives. Warning! The Skill Level of this artifact is currently set at 1500 due to the actions of others. You will only be able to access a portion of this Skill’s power until your own Skill Level grows!

Congratulations! You have learned the Skill (Fusion Domain) Helen’s Sea, Cradle of Unlikely Lives! Skill Level set at 200.

Congratulations! You have bonded with a Unique Item! You have bonded with the Horn of the First Herald (U). A powerful artifact that forms the second of the two iconic equipment of the Knight of the Tide. Forged by Randidly Ghosthound in order to make use of the potency of the Alpha Cosmos in his absence.

Congratulations! You have learned the Skill Crest of the Cosmos’s Wave (M) Lvl 1!

Crest of the Cosmos’s Wave (M): A powerful Skill wielded by the Knight of the Tide enables the user to draw on the power of those individuals standing behind the Knight and channel a portion of their Willpower and desires into each of their strikes. Ability to incorporate influences from the Alpha Cosmos grows with Skill Level. Strain of incorporating additional influences decreases with Skill Level. A slight chance of conjuring a phantasm from one of the previous Knights of the Tide when your wishes align with theirs.

Congratulations! You have learned the Skill Depth of the Universe’s Undertow (M) Lvl 1!

Depth of the Universe’s Undertow (M): The second of two Skills gifted by the Horn of the First Herald. While the first Skill increases the combat performance of the Knight of the Tide, the second blesses them with powerful instincts to sense the thoughts and desires of the Alpha Cosmos. Drawing on the collective subconscious, the Knight of the Tide will always have an inkling of where and when to appear. In dramatic situations, the Knight of the Tide will have greatly increased speed and reactions, so they might insert themselves in the most valuable opportunity. Effects increase with Skill Level.