Raymund Ballast squeezed his hands so tightly that his arms shook with the strain. His knuckles ached. Two responsibilities warred with his chest, the first toward his morals and the second toward his people. After his experience in the Nexus… and then today feeling the frightful conflict of images as the Head Drill Sergeant fought against the infiltrator… Raymund had stared directly into the unforgiving truth of his current situation: He was not strong enough to find Techetadore alone.

He was weak. Raymund blinked slowly and looked around him at his shabby shelter. He was incredibly weak.

...yet I cannot guarantee that what I offer will tempt the hearts of the Overseers, Something within Raymund’s body disengaged and slowly began to relax at that thought. His shoulders, which had been so tensed against this momentous decision, could gradually ease as he acknowledged that his off might not be enough. The true responsibility would lay with Advisor Zauna. All I have is my own body… and what meager potential I possess…

Raymund was currently weak. In the wider Nexus, this weakness had severely restricted his movements. But at the moment… his weakness was reassuring. Because as soon as he acknowledged his inability, he understood the responsibility wasn’t something that he alone could bear. He needed assistance to move forward.

For some reason, Raymund smiled. He raised his head and nodded decisively. Yes… this is the correct decision. I was always the one who would prepare the way for Techet. Therefore… my own wishes are unimportant. If I am able to liberate my brother from whatever current circumstances bind him… achieving success in that endeavor is worth any price.

With resolve in his heart, Raymund marched out of his shelter and toward the Northern portion of the training grounds. Most recruits were resting at the moment, but the Vulpine didn’t want to miss this opportunity. The sooner the training started, the better the result. That was something that Overseer Helen had drilled into him.

Today would be the day that his life changed… again.

When he arrived at the Overseers building, he informed the guard at the door that he was here to see Advisor Zauna. She came out soon after, her heavy eyes on Raymund. With his two tails excitedly swishing back and forth behind his back, he announced to her that he had resolved himself; he would accept her advice regarding how to change his image and utilize his Legendary Skill.

He then went on to explain that his reason for earning the top examination score and coming to the Nexus was to find his brother. In exchange for Advisor Zauna’s assistance in locating Techetadore, he would make whatever changes were necessary to his image to reach his full potential.

Zauna moved slowly after Raymund’s speech, reaching up and running her thumb over her chin. Her face made it difficult to read her expression. “And this new resolve to change your image… this new form… is what you truly desire?”

“It is what is necessary,” Raymund said with certainty. He performed a short bow toward his Advisor. “My hesitance in the past- oof!”

Advisor Zauna slammed her fist into Raymund's stomach. Then, as he bent all the way over, she brought her other hand down upon his back. Gasping weakly, Raymund fell forward with bulging eyes. He sat on his knees and struggled to breathe; Zauna had struck him directly in the diaphragm with her first strike, briefly paralyzing the muscle group.

Zauna spat off to the side. “You are foolish. Have you truly listened to my advice? The problem was never that you didn’t use your most potent Skill. I suggested that you focus on that because it is definitely powerful, whereas your current image… is definitely not. But what your image is missing is not anything specific, but the presence of a personal desire. You, as an individual, must identify a clear goal for your image.

“As long as you treat your image simply as the executor of a foreign responsibility, you will be weak.” Advisor Zauna turned away. Her heavy footfalls seemed to shatter all the fragile optimism Raymund had come here in his heart. “Go rest, recruit. See if you can meditate away your stupidity.”

*****

Sulfur hummed in concentrated as it gradually began to stretched its body across the ground to mimic the shape of the Grim Chimera’s new image. Randidly’s lips twitched as he tried not to smile at the plant-armor’s struggles. “Are you sure you don’t want any help? I can strike you a few times so you build up some kinetic energy…”

Sulfur resonated with annoyance, practically shouting through their mental connection that it didn’t want to bother Randidly with something as trivial as this. It was more than capable of adjusting its form to resonate with his images.

Truthfully, Randidly appreciated the sentiment behind the glacially slow shift from Sulfur. The fact that his armor was trying to help in his own way was kinda adorable. But realistically…

Shaking his head, Randidly turned away. At this rate, it will take a couple of weeks for Sulfur to ooze into the correct shape. With my assistance, that time would likely be shortened to only a few days… Well, I should be safe in the Rally Station for a while at least. Two more weeks until the next recruit challenge, two months until I will be leaving for the frontlines. I suppose we have the spare time.

So Randidly left his armor to its business and found a comfortable position on the floor. He cast a forlorn glance at the empty plate where his roast pig used to sit, but that could wait until later. His attention turned inward. His three images stirred, each with something on its mind. The Grim Chimera wanted to refine its shape. The Stillborn Phoenix whined that it wanted to devour more emotions. Yggdrasil wanted to strengthen its dominion over the surrounding area, in case another attack was incoming.

For now, Randidly ignored the three issues that were raised and focused in on the form of Yggdrasil. He passed through the emerald leaves, the rune-covered boughs, and arrived at the sturdy trunk of the World Tree. He was engulfed in a sea of rustling, creaking, and shifting as the invisible wind tousled the canopy around him. In his mind, he reached up and touched his hand against the thick bark. Even through his fingertips, he could sense the raw vitality beneath the rutted surface.

Releasing a breath, Randidly focused further on that life-energy that seemed to pulse unceasingly from the core of this mythical plant. As he sunk more deeply into his vision, golden light filled his vision. Sprinkled into that grand vitality was elements of purification that Randidly had incorporated early and now he focused on that purification and expanded it. As he began to work, that energy released a pulse of overwhelming light. Shade and color were eliminated and only illumination remained.

Gradually, that light faded. Orbs of white fire blazed and slowly dyed the surroundings white a lighter tint of gold. Ripples began to run through the powerful life energy.

With gritted teeth, he endured the feedback from his own image. Then he continued to tune the details. The color gradually shifted around him. Randidly wanted to completely transform the manifestation fo the Inscrutable Mien of Genesis, and he believed that would start with the energy at its base. The golden sea of life energy was his focus, for now.

The force and weight of the image came from the concept of genesis. For Yggdrasil, that genesis came from the sheer amount of natural growth was spurred on by the ambient energy it released. This nurturing energy was the seed of that genesis. Refining the energy further would lead to a cascading series of changes through the Skill.

Randidly raised his hands above the golden sea and gently lowered them. The ‘water’ flowed up to his fingers, so the tips just lightly brushed against the surface. With the added layer of purification present in this energy, the sensation was almost painful. Energy that was very similar to electricity jolted up from the pure spring of energy and made the muscles of his fingers reflexively tighten.

But of course, energy was a very amorphous concept. Simply by refining the substance of the energy, Randidly would probably struggle to make any transformative change. Which was why he intended to cheat.

With great care, Randidly reached out into his Soulskill and seized a portion of the image fragments he had taken from the image with the bandaged eyes. They gleamed with a pale green light, tumbling end over end in Randidly’s palm. He tightened his hand slowly, gradually destroying the ancillary details until only the portion that Randidly desired remained. In this case, what Randidly isolated was the sense of ‘intent’.

The image had moved with such purposeful force that its attacks could cut through space with an admirable efficiency. Randidly didn’t want that damage, but he did wish to cause a small shift in his vital energy. In the past, Yggdrasil’s energy was simply an ambient encourager. It was just as much fuel as it was the impetus for the growth. But if he could shift so the energy was more purposeful…

As a subconscious, natural force, the Inscrutable Mien was near divine. It was the sleeping perfection of natural beauty, like a thundering waterfall. WIth consciousness and purposefulness, Randidly had no doubt he could reach an oppressive level of power with the Skill.

Inside of his downward-facing palms, those pale-green motes appeared above the sea of life energy. His fingers continued to spasm as Randidly seized it so directly, but it was within acceptable levels. With a soft gesture, he diffused those sparkling, pale green lights into the core of his life energy. Boldly releasing their light, they sank within the endless waves of golden energy.

From there, he began using his insights into Nether to subtly weave some structure into the way the golden energy was diffused outward from the core. Prodded by his will, those motes of pale green intention spread their radiance through the sea of golden energy as it steadily shifted its basic structure to a more considered flow.

As small flaws and inconsistencies emerged between the golden energy and the pale-green motes of light, the bolts of feedback coming along Randidly’s fingers grew stronger. The magnitude increased to the point that the muscles of his forearms began to cramp.

There were obviously dangers with incorporating foreign images into oneself. One was that you might inject something dangerous into yourself that you didn’t immediately notice. Randidly wasn’t so worried about this for two reasons: he could directly annihilate any offending image with Nether and because his three images mutually restrained each other, preventing a problem from getting out of control before he could restrain it.

In reality, the one reason that Randidly had hesitated wasn’t related to the specific images themselves, but the fact that he was pretty much marking himself by accepting these image remnants. Even if he reduced the image to its component parts, Randidly was willing to bet the original owner would be able to recognize the pieces that were now incorporated into Randidly directly. He would lose all access to plausible deniability this way.

But Randidly was willing to take the risk. His interaction with Wick had lit a fire in his chest. He needed to increase as strength as quickly as possible. This role as Head Drill Sergeant was an opportunity to gather resources for Randidly’s mission with Edraine, but it was also making him plenty of enemies in the process, simply by his association with Military High Command. He couldn’t waste this time.

When the three months of training ended, Randidly would need to be ready to defend himself. Counting on Commandant Wick’s favor to protect him seemed like an easy way to end up dead in a shallow grave.

Or a way to be somehow ‘improved’ by the Commandant’s madness, so that the individual Randidly Ghosthound was irrevocably warped beyond recognition.

After shivering, Randidly banished those thoughts and continued thoroughly reworking the flow of his vital energy through Yggdrasil. His fingers continued to twitch. The motes of pale-green light were steadily being diffused into the spring of golden energy, but some hint of that color remained. Occasionally Randidly would pause and open his eyes, peering at the way Nether flowed between the recruits and overseers. Then he would return to his Soulspace and imitate that organic shape with the vital energy.

As part of the newfound purpose, every bit of growth caused by Yggdrasil would be intentional. In addition, there would be something… almost unmistakable about those beings touched by Yggdrasil’s energy. Randidly didn’t want the effect to be too egregious, lest his ability to heal unaffiliated parties was negatively impacted, but he did want the energy to possess a signature frequency.

Those who were raised beneath the shadow of the World Tree would always recognize their own.

And speaking of shadow… Seeing that the process of refining his vital energy would take more time, Randidly’s attention shifted. He pulled his hands out of the sea of energy and shook his numb extremities lightly; he would need a few more sessions before he had achieved the desired effect.

So he raised his gaze and let himself fade back out to stand before the World Tree. He twisted around and looked a the deep shadows cast by the thick layer of emerald leaves. But before he was able to locate the Implacable Price of Exodus, he received a message from Helen.

We received a message from Superintendent Xeruth. It’s clear that he is… quite conflicted, but risked offending you to deliver the message. Apparently, there is a man who wishes to come to visit you on the Rally Station. His name is Velio Dunn. And he says he wants to fight you.