“I almost feel bad for heroes,” Ace said. He lay on his belly on the edge of a shale outcropping, allowing him to look down at the rolling hills below them. After shimmying up to the edge, his whole body was covered in dust. Even worse, he smelled like he hadn’t bathed in a week. “In a way, they are cripplingly predictable. Before a fight, they will train and power up. It’s honestly obnoxious. But in this case, it helps us gauge how much time we have left.”

Ezekiel shivered. Laying here and listening to Ace ramble wasn’t ideal, but he had grown rather numb to it at this point. Obviously, they were far enough away from Randidly to avoid detection and therefore couldn’t actually see what was occurring. Yet Ace was right about one thing; the image reverberations that Randidly Ghosthound was releasing were so powerful that they didn’t need any special Skill in order to keep track of his position.

Whatever he was doing now was clearly important. It was practically an invitation to attack. Yet at the same time, who aside from the madman next to Ezekiel would dare attack the Ghosthound?

Of course, this madman wouldn’t attack him now. No, he wanted his triumph to be total and complete; he would wait until Randidly believed himself at his peak before striking.

Speaking of this madman… Ezekiel snuck a glance at Ace. Because after that initial comment, Ace had fallen silent. To further confuse Ezekiel, Ace squirmed backward from the edge of the cliff. Only when he was thoroughly screened from view by the stone did Ace straighten.

Then Ace gestured for Ezekiel to follow. “Come on, let’s go.”

“Just like that…?” Ezekiel was somewhat at a loss but still followed the instruction. When he stood, he looked at Ace with something close to bewilderment in his expression. “Aren’t you going to…?”

“There’s no point in monologuing further; there’s no more time to practice,” Ace said simply. Although his eyes were still bloodshot, there was a surprising amount of clarity in his gaze. “I would rather wait, but we need to interrupt the battle that Randidly is now powering up for. That is the moment to strike. Therefore… It is time to rouse our precious egg.”

*****

It was lunchtime when Randidly finally allowed himself to collapse on the ground like a deflated balloon. Neveah, perhaps out of pride, continued to stand above her Soulbound companion but was also breathing heavily. Over the past several hours they had poured everything they had into creating this arm.

Right now, Randidly was extremely weak. Although he had plenty of Mana and Stamina, his mind was blurry from the amount of Aether he had expended on keeping his images powerful and constant for the past twelve hours. Even Randidly’s refined drops of liquid Aether would only have limited usefulness if Kaan Swacc popped up right now.

Yet as Randidly lay on the ground exhausted, he couldn’t help but chortle. Who we are may give us strength, but it also binds us. What we want leads us around by the nose. Even though Kaan Swacc wants to triumph over me, his training only lets him consider it a victory if he is able to reveal my Nether affiliations. As such… he will let this opportunity to kill me pass without a second thought.

The truth of my Nether controls him. While the truth of my growing strength is ignored...

Of course, his good cheer passed pretty quickly. Because Randidly also knew that he probably held similar blinders in some ways. It might be worth it to investigate how he could improve himself.

But for now, Randidly forced himself to sit up. Then he slowly stood, his spine cracking as he twisted around and stretched. Finally, he proceeded to the slightly raised stone in the middle of their work area on which his finished arm sat.

The Left Arm of Randidly Ghosthound (L) Lvl 99: An arm that combines engineering genius, Aether Engraving, and metal smelting in a manner that nears perfection. Such a feat is only able to be poorly imitated in the future, never replicated by others. The streamlined design allows the harmony between the Engraving and the metal to reach new heights. Images flowing through this left arm will be strengthened. All Stats +50. Can only be used by Randidly Ghosthound. Aegis of Bones and Steel V. Purity of Purpose V. Prayer of the Bone Wyrm VI.

Aegis of Bones and Steel V: This arm will become the greatest shield that Randidly Ghosthound possesses. It was built with the express purpose of enduring, both the attacks of the enemies and usage of the Ghosthound himself. Because of that, this arm is practically living flesh, capable of slowly healing from damage done to it. Endurance +50. All attacks that reduce Health traveling through the arm will be reduced by 50%.

Purity of Purpose V: Perhaps more impressive even than the accomplishment itself, was the breadth and depth of Willpower demonstrated during the making of the arm. Although the path to completion was long, the maker did not flinch or look away. Such dedication is always rewarded. While using the arm, all of the effects of Randidly’s Skills are increased by 5%. The Skills in question need not flow through the arm itself.

Prayer of the Bone Wyrm VI: The left hand of Randidly Ghosthound carries with it the deepest hopes of a monster. Such a concentrated gift is a powerful one, but the effects are not yet clear. Increase the Level of the Engraving in order to see the full effect. User obtains the Skill Dream of the Aether Well Orphan (L) Lvl 1.

Dream of the Aether-Well Orphan (L): The user carries the hopes of another.

Randidly released a breath that hissed through his teeth. There was a lot to unpack in the description of the arm, but he couldn’t deny that this was a success. It was a Legendary item, and the stories and images that built it were his own. No longer did the System need to take stories from other places to give the item power; now Randidly could support a Legendary item all on his own.

Still…

Randidly glanced sideways at Neveah. The first two attributes of the arm were simple enough to understand, but the third one… the fact that it reached rank VI was a testament to its power. The only problem was that there were no current effects. And the fact that he was carrying the dreams of the Aether-Well Orphan…

Perhaps it was some remnant of that clarity toward the futures Randidly had seen while forging, but Neveah’s face looked so lined and tired as Randidly glanced at it. He could see the hint of a darkness in her, reminding him of the darkness that had broken Decklan Hyde. And considering this was only an illusion she projected, her actual condition must be much worse.

Before Randidly could speak, however, the corner of Neveah’s lips turned upward. “We should get some rest. I know you want to draw out Kaan Swacc as soon as possible-”

“No,” Randidly instantly countered. The vehemence of his response made Neveah’s face flicker in surprise. Perhaps any other time he would have put this issue off, but not today. Not after so viscerally feeling how his actions would affect, the future, he couldn’t turn away from the sadness in Neveah’s face or the vulnerability in that attribute his arm received. “What’s going on Neveah? You said you had a surprise for me with the Engraving, but this…”

For a second, Neveah was silent. Then she sighed. “...alright then. Honestly, I didn’t expect this either. Normally, I would say it is a failure, but the attribute being given the designation of VI… well, I just want to know… what I am. That’s what this represents. I mean, no one would say I’m not special, so I figured the gift would be...”

When Randidly tilted his head to the side, Neveah continued. “You found me in that Aether Crossroads, living but… without any memories. Now that we will soon head to the Nexus… I hope that means we will someday be able to understand what I am. Why am I different like this? Am I truly a member of the same race as Yystrix and Elhume? And what does that mean?”

Through their mental connections, Randidly felt all the powerful emotions contained in that statement physically swirling around Neveah. He bit his lip. How could he have missed something so obvious? “You are lonely. If it’s because I’ve been so busy-”

“Randidly, trust me, this isn’t about you.” Neveah rolled her eyes. Then she put her hands on her waist. “But truly, this can wait. Rest up; let’s get this fight over with.”

It took Randidly a few seconds of staring at Neveah to find the strength in himself to nod and let the issue go. His fear wasn’t called for; Neveah wasn’t Decklan. Sitting down, he partially expected it to be difficult to clear his mind. After that strange moment of clarity regarding his power to affect the future and now Neveah’s inner emotional turmoil… Randidly expected his thoughts to spin round for at least an hour.

But as soon as he settled down his brain winked off like a candle thrust into a snowdrift. Perhaps even he had underestimated how drained he was after the forging. But considering the positive result they received, it was definitely worth it.

Hopefully, it would be enough.

When Randidly snapped back to wakefulness, he signaled Neveah and she gratefully collapsed on the ground and took her turn with resting. Because she had only handled the Engraving and not the whole process of submerging the surrounding area in images, her mental consumption was somewhat more modest. But Randidly knew from experienced that Engraving was one of the most exhausting activities.

Leaving Neveah to recover, Randidly stood and stretched. It was now evening, with the air growing cold around them. Absolute Timing informed Randidly that he had been asleep for three and a half hours.

Although he hadn’t seen a reply from his first message, Randidly sent another message to Sydney. At the end of it, he asked whether she would be interested in meeting for dinner once everything else was dealt with. It was an olive branch, and the first of many steps toward addressing his past Randidly planned on making before he left the Earth again.

Congratulations! Your Fatepiece Dreamcatcher of the Long Night has grown to Level 62!

Congratulations! Your Fatepiece Dreamcatcher of the Long Night has grown to Level 63!

For a second, Randidly did nothing. Then he simply shook his head. Of course the stalled out growth of his Fatepiece would be triggered by a random thought. Still, Randidly didn’t let that derail him for long. But he simply made a mental note that thinking about addressing his past had triggered a Level.

Then, because Neveah would likely take some time to recover, Randidly allowed himself the break of thinking about Kharon Academy’s development. Not the details of the mechanisms, he would need to wait until he could talk with Wendy again before he pushed forward on that front. Instead, he focused on the values he would want to emphasize. More specifically, Randidly wanted to give Kharon Academy a motto that would sum everything about it up.

It was an interesting diversion if one into which Randidly could make very little headway. No obvious answer manifested itself as Randidly cast his mind around. Yet it was the break Randidly needed.

Because as soon as Neveah woke up, they would begin their plot to catch Kaan Swacc.