Randidly had been hunched over when the shattering shift had happened, so the first result was that his weight carried him forward in a slow somersault. His Grim Intuition buzzed while it attempted to relocate its bearings and then snapped back into place, flooding him with information about the surroundings. Randidly then knew exactly where he was, but he couldn’t muster up the spare energy to deal with the change in scenery. The whole reason that he had leaned forward in the first place because some part of him sagging underneath the weight of his own image.

His image physicalizations were dormant ‘physicalities’ that manifested in the real world when moved by his Willpower. Compared to the usage of raw images, they were less impactful, but much more efficient to utilize. However, in regards to the Grim Chimera, Randidly had overused his Willpower to the point that the cost of the physicalizations was approaching the speed at which his overtaxed mind replaced his mental zeal.

A little bit more and the physicalizations would reach a tipping point. Randidly suspected they would cannibalize themselves then to keep them physicalized, eradicating all the effort that he had poured into them over the past few months.

Randidly Ghosthound was currently exhausted beyond his own understanding. Not physically; he had thousands of Stamina to spare. He had moved past the point where Stamina was ever a barrier to what he wanted to accomplish. To a lesser extent, he had also gained a near-infinite supply of Mana. But in terms of Willpower and psychological determination…

That tipping point was so close. Randidly could practically feel it, his thick and clumsy gathering mental energy in increments the size of grains of sand. Leaning forward, Randidly committed everything he had to carefully picking up a few more grains to maintain this form.

In his mind, the Grim Chimera swayed under the unrelenting scouring that these attackers inflicted upon him. Just as Randidly was able to find the new physical shape of the Grim Chimera, they had begun to tear it to pieces. Of course, that was exactly the method by which the image would grow the quickest. But the combination of the brutal training followed by these small attacks...

In the lonely space of his mind, Randidly asked himself why he was so insistent on propping the Grim Chimera upright.

“Don’t hold anything back,” Alana shouted to her assembled Expira dream team, and even through Randidly’s weariness, the corner of his mouth quirked up. Around him, the remaining fighters shifted into a new formation and Grim Intuition continued to dispassionately catalog their aggressive movements around him.

Randidly gathered five grains of mental energy and carefully put them into the central area of his Soulspace. His Nether Nebula was churning seriously, rapidly absorbing the surrounding significance, but Randidly couldn’t spare his attention to notice. Two of those gathered grains was spirited away to support the Grim Chimera physicalizations.

Randidly gathered four more valuable particles of energy.

The surrounding clouds were spiraling together, steadily forming into a vast dragon that sucked in a deep breath as though it would swallow all of existence. As Randidly continued to tumble forward in a lazy rotation, the head of the dragon accelerated in its growth, pumping its body to stretch and spiral around enough to catch up to its own tail. Then it opened its jaws to slurp up the surrounding clouds, extending its amorphous body even further. As Huang Li raised his sword, that massive dragon twisted and regarded Randidly with sinister eyes.

You are next, those eyes whispered.

Above the clouds, a massive violet moon was descending. It hung, fat and low in the sky, dominating at least one-fifth of the horizon. Even some part of the distracted Randidly dispassionate admired the sublime light released by this celestial body. So bright was the light that the red-violet moon released that the color seemed to flow together into a drop of liquid light. After trembling at the edge for a short while, that drop fell down from the moon with all the suddenness of a tear. It streaked across the sky with all the violence of a meteor seeking to eradicate all life on the planet. Lyra reached up and caught that brilliant drop of liquid light between her palms.

Randidly released a breath. Three more granules of mental energy. One went to the physicalizations. There was less and less to recover as he pulled deeper and deeper on his own brains reserves. The issue wasn’t that he didn’t have methods to defeat the people arrayed around him. Even if he dropped the physical manifestations of the Grim Chimera and fought primarily with his physical abilities, he was confident that he could defeat them. It wouldn’t even be a contest at all if Randidly activated either of his other two images to assist in the fight.

One issue was that Randidly barely had enough mental energy to deactivate the physicalizations. The process would undoubtedly be messy, perhaps leaving some lasting scars on the Grim Chimera in the process.

But it had also become a point of pride for his image. The essence of the Grim Chimera had been barred and that essence refused to allow any compromise before these foes. Which was why Randidly had tortuously fought, relying only on the weakening power of the Grim Chimera to persist. To the point that the last dregs of his mental energy were devoured keeping the Grim Chimera active.

This time when Randidly pulled, he could only produce a single shining granule of energy. For the moment, this was as much recovery as could occur.

If we just rely on solely you, we might lose. Randidly observed to the hunched form of the Grim Chimera. The gathered mental energy flowed through his brainstem, returning his focus to a sharpened state. A loss would have… unpredictable results on Expira.

Huang Li flourished his sword. The howling wind in the surroundings became almost deafening as both the intensity of the wind increased and the participants began to fall back down to the ground while they vigilantly watched Randidly’s motionless form. “Sky Slaying Sword!”

The air around them rumbled as that massive cloud dragon began to move. Randidly continued to tumble forward, seemingly oblivious to the approaching danger. The dragon was certainly impressive, and fueled by a towering image, but it was slow. He still had a bit of time to gather himself.

Within his Soulspace, the Grim Chimera sneered at Randidly. An unpredictable loss? There is only one consequence of a loss: death. That is the way that it has always been. That is what it means to be the Grim Chimera. It has been your privilege to be in situations where that is not the case… but that is why I refuse to relent. I will face this threat alone or I will be crushed, alone. That is the Path I walk.

Randidly wished he could be mad at his image, but it was an all too familiar refrain. He had taken a similar stubborn Path in the past. This result… was just a result of those previous choices.

Huang Li’s sword cut downward, perhaps a bit superfluously. The maw of the cloud dragon opened as it accelerated downward, seeming to gather the whole of the sky behind it as it built up momentum toward its target. Randidly felt so tired from the training he had endured and then this attack that he couldn’t sustain both experiencing emotions and physical movements at the same time. So for a few scattered shards of time, he simply mused about the gamble that he was about to take.

This was a targeted threat at the Grim Chimera that his image hadn’t really experienced since it had become a part of him. There was great meaning to this unprecedented sense of crisis; as he had obviously experienced with the rapid condensation of a new form of the Grim Chimera in the past few minutes. But there was an equal risk.

With his current mental state, Randidly was unsure how the Grim Chimera would fare after any more direct confrontations with another’s images. The outcome that he feared most would be that his image would shatter, damaging and forcing him a large step backward in terms of physical image manifestations.

But in a way, he had no choice. It was either willingly maim the Grim Chimera directly or dance on the edge of a knife. Survival… above all else…

Of the two dozen cradled grains of mental energy, two were stolen to fuel the physical manifestations. If he was going to do this, he needed more mental energy than this.

The Grim Chimera raised its gaze and looked up at the rushing cloud dragon that Huang Li unleashed. A split second later, he activated Man is Proud, But the Chimera Takes in order to zip sideways toward Dinesh. Randidly’s eyes were sharp and vicious as he cut through the countervailing winds. Unfortunately, it seemed Dinesh had let Acri in the training area when he teleported the rest of them out here. I might be facing this threat alone, but I’ve already disabused myself of the notion that I can handle every threat directly… let’s see how much control you have over that massive image, Huang Li…

Congratulations! Your Skill Chimeric Avoidance (L) has grown to Level 293!

As Randidly streaked sideways through the whistling wind, the Sky-Slaying Sword blasted through the spot where he had been originally floating with the rumbling vibrations of an avalanche. Then, like the titanic working that it was, it twisted and undulated to shift its course in Randidly’s new direction. In that time, Randidly arrived before Dinesh and watched him shatter, suddenly becoming a determined Paolo.

“Right Hand of the Challenger!” Paolo bellowed. Somehow, that indomitable quality that he possessed enabled him to resist the tug of the Dreamcatcher of the Long Night, and now Paolo seemed positively bristling with that same fighting spirit. His attitude was completely contrary to his shattered left elbow joint that hung uselessly against his body.

He practically stank of abundant mental energy.

Randidly’s eyes flicked sideways, finding Dinesh amongst the dropping individuals. As I thought, You’ve still got some juice left. But if I’m being honest… yours is an image that I can deal with. Better to handle a foe like this while I can. Then Randidly refocused on Paolo and grinned; he was exactly what the doctor had ordered. “Cursed Appetite of a Wraith.”

Congratulations! Your Skill Cursed Appetite of a Wraith (L) has grown to Level 300!

Congratulations! Your Skill Cursed Appetite of a Wraith (L) has grown to Level 301!

Whereas the Skill could generally be used to absorb trace amounts of energy from the surrounding area, Randidly’s Skill and image usage had be becoming increasingly sophisticated since the Skill had been created. So when he directly reached into Paolo and pulled at his mental energy, he was able to rip out a large handful. Granules fell like raindrops on parched ground. His physical form subtly intensified in color. Details became increasingly clear. Paolo stalled out in his punch, confused as the brilliance in his fist dimmed. Meanwhile, that ember in the Grim Chimera’s chest began to send tongues of flame flickering up out of his heavy wounds once more.

Gotcha.

Randidly clenched his massive left hand and hammered Paolo’s punch directly, shattering the man’s knuckles and sending him tumbling away. Then Randidly squinted upward and kicked his feet sharply downward at the same time. He shot upward relative to the other fighters, aiming for the grouping of Donny, Lyra, and Huang Li.

Of course, others moved to intercept him almost instantly. The cloud dragon had drifted horizontally through the air again to right its direction and now accelerated up at Randidly from below. Alana streaked in sideways, each beat of her Fate’s wings sending pearly feathers tumbling through the air.

But what Randidly was actually waiting for was Kayle, who obliging manifested behind Randidly’s back and aimed several slashes at his blindspot. But as Kayle began to swing his long knives, Randidly’s right hand whipped around and snatched at Kayle. Just as lightning fast as he appeared, the man twisted and slid away through the air, but Randidly activated Man is Proud, But the Chimera Takes to explode in pursuit and catch him.

For the second time in the fight, someone’s psyche stubbornly resisted the pull of the Dreamcatcher of the Long Night; this particular duo of Paolo and Kayle from Donnyton was trouble. When the thin fingers of Randidly’s hand squeezed around his face, cutting several gashes across his cheekbones, jaw, and upper neck, Kayle decided to ignore defense and manifested his image in one shimmering blaze along the knife in his right hand.

Which was also what Randidly was waiting for. Heh, maybe you two aren’t so bad after all. So generous with your energy... Cursed Appetite of a Wraith.

Congratulations! Your Skill Cursed Appetite of a Wraith (L) has grown to Level 302!

Because he hadn’t experienced it personally, Kayle was no more prepared for Randidly to reach within him and steal some of his mental energy to fuel images. Another handful was tossed into Randidly’s starving Soulspace. The sharp divide along Kayle’s swinging knife dimmed and only scratched at Randidly’s shoulder, while Randidly dislodged the rest of Kayle’s pesky resistance by slamming his left fist into his stomach. Finally, the Dreamcatcher could pull some of his memories from his head.

Randidly tossed Kayle to the side and stomped on the air again, shooting upward. Behind him, the massive cloud dragon was growing in size, making the distance between them seem increasingly small. It was definitely accelerating, as well. As Randidly’s Grim Intuition considered the size of the thing, he was really quite impressed by Huang Li; managing all of that image energy and keeping it pure wasn’t a small feat.

“You go no further, Randidly,” Donny announced from above. He brought the blade of his sword against his shield, producing a clear and valiant noise. “Righteous Barricade!”

A dense network of golden lines sprayed outward from Donny, spreading rapidly out to form a web above Randidly, separating him from the remaining challengers. With the barrier in place, Randidly would be forced to avoid the cloud dragon below while they continued to pepper him with attacks from on high. In particular, Randidly felt quite wary when he saw the small dagger that Lyra was shaping from the liquid light she had gathered.

That’s gonna be a problem. Randidly’s mouth twitched. For all that Lyra had only had her Class for one fourth the time as most of these people, she was fucking strong.

But despite what the Skill could mean, the Grim Chimera only chuckled at the display. Power flooded through his image physicalizations; his heart began to pound. Those two breaths of image potency he had stolen from Paolo and Kayle might be scraps compared to what he normally wielded, but it was also about double the potency that he had started this fight with. So Randidly stomped on the air once, twice, and then three times. His body accelerated and ripped past the physical limitation. Before Donny could react, Randidly was right in front of him.

“Lucifer Slash!” Lucifer gallantly came at Randidly from the side, but it didn’t even matter. Randidly once more activated Cursed Appetite of the Wraith. They seemed a bit more prepared for his greedy pull this time, making sure Randidly only could sneak away with a whisper of their power. But that was really just to distract them. Meanwhile, his limbs blurred into motion.

So fast that each movement produced a sonic boom, Randidly knocked aside Lucifer’s slash with his left hand. That fist then continued forward and smashed into Lucifer’s gut. Even as he was about to be blasted away, Randidly’s right hand snaked out and seized his head. His memories were pilfered by the Dreamcatcher of the Long Night.

Then, with his grip on Lucifer’s head, he whipped the limp body around and smashed it into Donny’s shield. As Donny adjusted his defense, Randidly’s massive left hand clenched into a fist and moved with deceptive quickness. It slid under his shield and caught Donny in the diaphragm, likely causing the muscle to seize and produce the sensation that he couldn’t breathe. Randidly’s right hand then released Lucifer’s head and grabbed Donny’s in one smooth motion.

Even as they all fell down toward the ground and a massive cloud dragon ascended to obliterate them, Randidly had reduced two more of the ambushers to non-factors. He turned and grinned around at the surviving seven.