Randidly paused and considered Azriel’s words. Truly, it was possible that what would result from this extended Nether Ritual wasn’t a weapon-

But that was when the implication of Azriel’s words made Randidly grit his teeth in frustration. There had been hints of this realization sprinkled in her entire attitude, but Azriel’s most recent statement drew Randidly’s attention directly to this truth. “You… you encouraged me to take this gamble… and you don’t even know for sure what is going to happen…?”

Randidly could clearly sense the unamused look that Azriel gave him. It was just not to be worried when that mental look was juxtaposed with her coldly inert body on the dais. “Randidly, how would I know how this would turn out? Although I can sense the need, I have no experience with Nether at all. I simply believed that you cannot handle all of the issues yourself and that this is a good opportunity to make an ally. Or at least unite under a common goal.”

“You…!” Randidly hissed. Yet his tongue felt clumsy and thick as he attempted to express why he was so upset. It was all too much. To have seen the ghosts of his past Soulskill and to have been forced to admit all of the prejudice he had carried against the Creature, some part of Randidly was emotionally exhausted.

Piece by piece, Randidly had opened up and considered the truths that he had packed away an ignored for a long time. Under the urging of Azriel, Randidly had displayed vulnerability and took a step back from the tight control he wanted to maintain over himself. The tight control he felt was necessary in order to succeed. Now, to realize that Azriel’s urging was made without even knowing the exact outcome…

To feel like his vulnerability was based on trust in Azriel’s plan, and to have made so much of this choice on because of a feeling about need-

“But I do understand a little bit about Nether,” Azriel continued. “And is it not the case that it is always based upon faith…? So it is not like I don’t possess any idea what will become of me. I would not casually risk myself.”

Randidly’s gaze toward Azriel’s still form hovered somewhere between icy and scornful. And perhaps the Creature sensed the internal discussion going on between Azriel and Randidly because she finally spoke up. “These flimsy spirits… Do you think this changes anything?”

Slowly, Randidly turned to regard the Creature with an even look. For all that he felt a great deal of worry for Azriel’s plight, he was not going to reveal that on his face. Despite her earlier surprise, it seemed the Creature had mastered herself and hidden her confusion for the moment. And in the face of this calm and collected Creature Randidly couldn’t show weakness.

But he didn’t miss the flinty anger in her gaze revealed this was still a choice that the Creature didn’t expect him to make. Her words were scathing as she favored him with a grimace. “There are deep threads of karma in those memories. Threads of hatred that will bind your Path more intimately toward the Nexus’ destruction even more tightly than iron. No matter what sort of pathetic emotional wrapping you put on my truth, it will remain the truth; you will carry my grudge against the System to your grave.”

She legitimately wants me to refuse to allow it within me. This… is aimed to get a rise out of me. Randidly thought in wonder. Even though he still feared how much control of himself he surrendered by accepting this memory, to see her so desperately pressuring him made him truly consider allowing this to happen.

Still, what continued to hold Randidly back was the evident truth that the Creature was not bluffing. Now that she had reminded him of karma, he could feel the subtle reverberations he had learned to recognize from Lucretia emanating out from that minuscule black bead. Part of the karma was his own, but to Randidly’s karmic senses the air was thick with a seemingly infinite series of karmic ties that blanketed the area like a spider web. The benefits of a thousand years of struggling vehemently against the System given leave to bloom karmically.

And Randidly was supposed to easily accept that strange organism into himself…?

Just as he was reconsidering his position, Azriel spoke again into Randidly’s ear. “The karma might be vast, but just like she can use those ties to bind you, can use them against her. With my body as a medium-”

“Passing karma from one person to another is not a simple thing,” Randidly hissed mentally. His emerald eyes narrowed as he considered the tight, repressed fury in the Creature’s stance. “There must be a total severing: the two original individuals must either become one or the donating one will surrender all claim to the power that the karma carries. And I think it’s clear which the Creature will aim for-”

“Your argument against allowing her strength into you is that she will have the leverage to affect your behavior. That you will be bound by the karma she bears,” Although Randidly couldn’t see Azriel’s movements in the mental world because of her continued deathly stillness physically in front of him, he could feel her slowly marshaling herself. This was the spine that Randidly had been anxious not to see earlier. “...but can’t we do the same?”

“Not to sound defeatist, but even the most optimistic view of my karma would put it beneath the weight of a thousand years of the Creature’s,” Randidly sighed. Then fire ignited in his eyes. An interesting possibility, but it was not a fight he believed he could win. “And also, this still sets aside the whole issue of what happens to your body-”

“I’m not talking about using karma against her.” The Nether Ritual howled above the two of them. It was shrinking, bringing with it a subtly heavier weight to their discussion. Even though nothing had really changed, Azriel’s voice warped as it passed through the thick Nether. “I’m talking about using the leverage. The same leverage that she used to get here.”

Congratulations! Your Skill Nether Ritual (A) has grown to Level 92!

Randidly blinked. “What are you talking about…?”

Now Azriel was insistent, speaking confidently into Randidly’s ear. “Your fear is making this all about keeping yourself pure from the Creature’s influence. And maybe that’s the smart idea. But you are missing the point: why did this happen? It was because the Nether inside of your Alpha Cosmos needed an avatar and she inserted herself into that niche. Because of that, she’s difficult to dislodge from you currently. Unless you created another avatar-”

Then Randidly saw it and his eyes widened. “...you don’t want to give birth to a weapon with your body and try to keep the Creature from using it. You want to absorb her memory and take her position in my Soulskill, becoming the embodiment of Nether here. And she’s given you the karma tied to her so you can easily replace her-”

Still, Randidly’s good mood didn’t last very long. His frown deepened. “...yet it still leaves me bearing the cost of all these karmic ties to the System, and you having to contend with the memories of the Creature in order to force her out. Even with my Soulskill’s history helping your side, we can’t know what will happen to you.”

This time, Azriel just sighed. “...I know that. This was never supposed to be a perfect solution; we already missed the chance for a perfect solution when we didn’t prepare for the need for Nether in the Alpha Cosmos. No, we were surprised. I just wanted to make sure you wouldn’t cut off your own arm in order to spite the Creature in this moment. As long as you keep looking, there is a Path forward.”

There was an uncomfortable feeling in Randidly’s chest as he listened to Azriel’s words. “You have a lot of faith in me.”

“I wouldn’t be friends with you if I didn’t think you could handle this responsibility.” Azriel responded easily. “Let me ask you one last question; what did you wish for as you made this Nether Ritual?”

Congratulations! Your Skill Nether Ritual (A) has grown to Level 93!

For several seconds, Randidly became conscious of only two things: the sound of his own breathing and the terrible weight of the Nether bead that was slowly sinking toward Azriel’s body as the Nether Ritual continued to hum along. Even though the Nether had been given a small shape, it was still pressing down on the surrounding space. Perhaps because no Nether was escaping up into the surface of the Alpha Cosmos, the density of Nether around them climbed sharply upward with every passing moment.

They were becoming the core of something on this platform. The core of Randidly’s wish. One last time, Randidly exhaled slowly. Then he said, “...I wished for Peace. For the Alpha Cosmos. For balance so that all the people who depend on me won’t need to struggle to survive at least once in their lifetime.”

“Then trust that wish.” And, as though she understood that Randidly needed time to think, Azriel severed the mental connection between them. She simply became the pale body in a crimson gown as a strange bead drifted ever closer to her chest.

Looking up at the tight spirals of Nether coming down around the shivering platform, Randidly faced the awareness that he could still shatter what he had wrought here. Scatter the energy flows and reclaim the memories that he had offered up as fuel for the Nether Ritual. It would not be without cost, but he still possessed the capability to manage it.

But he likely would not be able to do the same in twenty seconds.

It’s momentum had risen too sharply. The weaving that Randidly had orchestrated was accelerating toward a climax. If he wanted to stop, now was his last chance. It was Azriel’s last chance.

Randidly pressed his eyes closed. Azriel’s plan was to use the same leverage that the Creature aimed against him to dislodge her. In the process, shore up the flaw that the Creature had pointed out to create a more well-grounded Soulskill. His Alpha Cosmos would be a world and a body in the outside universe, with Azriel becoming a a focal point of the Nether within the Soulskill to reflect the truth that Nether was a part of Randidly.

Yet as Randidly considered it… such an option was better than the current state, but it was still also flawed. Because even if Azriel bore the weight of Randidly’s prior Soulskills and the Creature’s memories, she was… a light counterweight compared to a whole world. Randidly and the Alpha Cosmos were one and the same. It would be one thing to change the Alpha Cosmos to incorporate Nether. It was quite another to make a single individual the weight of Nether in his Soulskill.

Especially because she wasn’t bound to anything like how Randidly and the Alpha Cosmos were connected.

And the other reason that Randidly hesitated was because he was distantly aware of the System watching his actions here. The System was a constant presence in his Soulskill, giving them access to Stats, Skills, and Classes. Even if the means were through his own lighthouses, the System would no doubt be gathering information on the Alpha Cosmos, the first of its kind. So he didn’t want-

As seconds ticked by, Randidly forced his eyes open. They were as bright and emerald as a painting of spring. What is within, without. What is without, within. Even if it's not a perfect answer, Azriel is right that it is probably worth the gamble. Plus, removing the Creature from this role is probably more important-

Ignition Essence slowly grew taller around Randidly’s body. He had a flash of inspiration.

Congratulations! Your Skill Nether RItual (A) has grown to Level 94!

Even as the twenty-second mark Randidly had set himself passed, Randidly didn’t move. His mind was racing.

When he laughed, the Creature looked at Randidly suspiciously. But Randidly just shook his head in amusement; he had seen the Path forward. “If you want to give me a heavy karma against the System, the solution is easy. I don’t need to retreat; I’ll just use that karma as a blade to cut it out of my Alpha Cosmos.”