Randidly stood at the edge of one of his skyislands with his arms folded behind his back. Directly out from his position, the monstrous clouds shaped by Nether King Bleak Sky drifted closer. His Nether Core continued to whine, grinding up against the constant pressure of the impending crisis.

But apparently, we need to wait a few more hours before the main event, Randidly’s lips twitched as he straightened his black robe embroidered in gold. Fucking typical. Why are you delaying, Bleak Sky?

Light began to fade as night arrived in the Second Cohort. Nearby, a dozen craftsmen were hurriedly assembling ornate gazebos jutting out from the edge of the skyisland. It was an idea of the Patron of the Deep’s, after Swacc's donation of the expensive and sturdy wood. Basic lumber for the base, the rich and gorgeously stained wood for the framework. Although only ten such gazebos were being built, they could hopefully house a segment of the population rich enough to want privacy but unable to afford one of the penthouse suites in the hotel. The Patron of the Deep insisted it was necessary. Every small act to counter the overcrowding on the island helped.

Randidly scanned the materials for the third time today, just to reassure himself. Again, he found not even a hint of any subterfuge by Swacc. Which filled him with a strange mixture of disappointment and anxiety. Disappointment Swacc didn’t give him the justification to seek him out and end him and anxiety because the lack of a hook in the gifted wood made him feel like he was missing something. Yet by every metric he and Jotem could devise, the wood was simply wood.

However, it was hard to believe Swacc was a serious issue, compared to the threat looming above the city. The threat which insisted on arriving fashionably late, like some two-bit diva arriving at a house party.

Sighing, Randidly pivoted and walked back across the skyisland toward the highest and most prestigious building. The grand hotel, the personification of everything the Patron of the Deep value, shaped from foundation to vaunted windows by the Origin Beast. It would be the venue for Devick’s imaginary birthday party.

Perhaps a slow form of torture for Randidly.

There was a chance, of course, Randidly mused, that Devick would not show up. The absence of the guest of honor would give him the excuse not to attend at all. The Miracle’s team captain had taken Toll’s injury very hard. The flaking skin as his body healed, combined with the pointedly harsh words said by Lord Cerulean while she was eavesdropping, shook her self-confidence. Yet Randidly had been surprised to feel how disturbed her emotions had become.

I’m used to the relentlessness of the modern Devick, Randidly clicked his tongue. She might resemble her in intensity and methods now, but she doesn’t possess the uncompromising spine she developed, failing to imprint on the Master and then surviving until the Seventh Cohort. She’s fragile.

As he moved toward the center of the skyisland, street lights increased in frequency. The thoroughfares were clogged with bodies, queueing in front of street vendors for food. Randidly used the Stillborn Phoenix to bend gravity and light around his person, but picked his steps forward carefully. He was not in a rush.

No one would have expected Devick to flawlessly defeat the Iron Giants. They were an established team from Malloon, with a comprehensive recruiting program and a tested and true training methodology. Compared to that, Devick’s motley crew of Miracles had very little going for them, except for the burning hope in their hearts.

Hope had proven to be a surprisingly easy substance to tear when exposed to the elements. Devick had been the vivacious soul of that hope, but Toll was the body of the team, carrying her will to completion. Without him, the execution began to fall to pieces. Jawem could not fill in the role of Toll. Nor did he want to.

In the end, he suspected Devick would need to take that step on her own.

Once Randidly had finished stabilizing Toll’s condition, he had left the healer’s tent. From afar, he had sensed Devick creeping in to visit her injured subordinate.

Even remembering Toll’s state now made Randidly grimace, as he wove through a group of teenagers throwing rocks at each other. He had reached out and used his Fourth Authority Animation Nova to directly seize the essence of Toll when his Health had bottomed out. It had been a close thing. From his experiences on Expira, Randidly understood how dangerous it was to bring back the soul of someone who had been dead for too long, due to their core aspects being absorbed into Pine. Or perhaps reabsorbed.

The current Pine felt a lot less dangerous, but Randidly didn’t want to risk it. However, he had hesitated slightly when the flame blast hit the entangled bodies of Toll and Devick; he had checked on Devick first and missed the chance to simply reinforce Toll’s body with life energy at the moment of impact.

Another feather of guilt to tuck into his left hand and ache when he reminisced on his flaws. But Randidly had shouldered worse burdens. He stabilized Toll’s condition. He made it to the body and mended the flaws. Yet the athlete had been wounded and Randidly understood why immediately; without a body, the destabilized consciousness would be exposed to an awareness akin to what he could now see with Infinite Incendiary Filaments of the Dove Moirae. The world laid bare, all energy and motion and ferocity and emptiness, without rhyme nor reason.

A newly liberated soul faced all that without the benefits of his high Stats to cope with this rush of information.

Toll returned, a Class-less individual briefly exposed to the whirling maelstrom of raw energy, a much twitchier and more timid version of himself. His most common response to any stimuli was to flinch back. What little self-possession Devick maintained crumbled when she saw this hollow version of her teammate.

Yet to Randidly, this seemed a bit premature of a response. He had seen multiple friends wounded deeply. Even Neveah had briefly retreated into herself, unable to withstand her own emotional limitations and fear of death. Time would heal most of the current weakness, refamiliarize Toll with the world.

Randidly glanced up at the sky. Perhaps because Bleak Sky had pulled so many of the clouds to make his grand announcements of woe, the stars and looming nebula were particularly close and clear. He needed to avoid gazing too long at the serene whirling of Pine’s manifestation, lest the modern absence Pine infect the memory, but otherwise the whimsical, star-filled tapestry brought to him a sense of peace.

“Some lessons you need to learn on your own,” Randidly murmured to himself.

Once again, he straightened his robes. His Nether Core attempted to rev and stabilize the memory but the pressure of the looming apocalypse just made it release a weak-sounding groan. Randidly grimaced. His palms were slightly damp with anticipation for one of the most overwhelming confrontations he had ever witnessed.

And he had to now sit through a party until the hammer blow finally fell.

Randidly growled out a curse and continued his walk through the skyisland. Around him, a sea of revelers threw back cider and cheered in the Miracle’s name. Despite the injury to Toll, the mood remained positive. Compared to the incredible performance of Devick, what did an injury to a supporting cast member matter?

The truth is, both things are true, Devick. Randidly thought as he walked through the city. You made a horrible mistake and it cost you the health of a dear friend. You utilized your superior Skills and tactics to overcome great adversity and seize an impressive victory. Both interpretations are true. In life, you do not balance your experiences and only feel the net result between them. You carry both with you.

The worst sort of mistake you can make… and I think, the mistake you made in the real timeline, was trying to collapse all the complexities of life into a single layer. From there, your madness was born. This time… I hope you make a different choice.

Congratulations! Your Skill Casting Blades from Insatiable Grievances (M) has grown to Level 852!

Congratulations! Your Skill Footsteps of a Legend (L) has grown to Level 748!

…

Congratulations! Your Skill Casting Blades from Insatiable Grievances (M) has grown to Level 880!

Randidly scowled at the sudden influences of Skill Levels, but with so many Skills close to a mille, he wouldn’t sneeze at PP. His emotional sea bubbled, a new current emerging within its depths. He supposed he couldn’t begrudge the opposing Nether King too much, because the longer he delayed, the stronger Randidly would become. Yet he doubted Bleak Sky didn’t also benefit from this timing.

But for the life of him, Randidly couldn’t figure out why the Nether forces arrayed around Malloon were waiting.

He raised his head and unleashed the full force of his awareness. Suddenly, all the noise and interference vanished. He brushed slightly against the attentions of Westrisser and Cerulean, who guarded the city. But they reacted with indifference and bemusement, respectively, allowing Randidly to grasp at the opponents.

Congratulations! Your Skill Ghosthound’s Acute Nether Nose (M) has grown to Level 1042!

Congratulations! Your Skill Infinite Incendiary Filaments of the Dove Moirae (P)(U) has grown to Level 1091!

Five Nether Kings, including Bleak Sky. Randidly blinked in surprise. So, he really was waiting for reinforcements. Now, are they delaying for a sixth, or will there also be a giant Nether Ritual aimed at Malloon?

Perhaps Randidly allowed himself to be too lost in his thoughts because he arrived at the base of the hotel. For a moment he intended to leap up to the roof and linger there for a bit, but he paused as he noticed Devick, standing there and staring up at the building. He tilted his head to the side. “Are you ready for a celebration dedicated entirely to you?”

“We both know it won’t be like that,” Devick pivoted and looked at Randidly. Her eyes were dark and serious. More than that, she seemed incredibly genuine. He could still feel grief hanging around her, but apparently she had moved past it in the last few hours. Randidly couldn’t help but feel impressed.

After a brief hesitation, Devick did something else entirely unexpected; she bowed to him, without any winking or playfulness. “Nether King Hungry Eye, I need to apologize to you. I had intended to bring you here and use you. I’m sure you were at least distantly aware of my intentions… but you know-”

Devick bit her lip as she straightened. A single tear ran down the side of her face. “Y-you know… I’m not alone. We have… relationships. And that’s scary, but I can’t keep everyone at arm’s length. If I do- well, you won’t get hurt, but others will. Probably I will too. So let me try this again. Nether King, please. I need your help to punish Larson Cerulean, who hurt a friend of mine.”

This, Randidly chewed lightly on the inside of his chew. Is a much better Path.

However, he still folded his arms, keeping his face stern. “What will I receive in exchange?”

“First and most importantly, my thanks and respect,” Devick said. She didn’t even need to suppress a smirk. “The knowledge that I couldn’t have done this without you. I have some funds I am willing to provide to you as well, around ten thousand credits. Is this satisfactory?”

“Nope,” Randidly shook his head. “There is something very specific I want.”

For a brief moment, some of Devick’s seriousness fell away. Her eyes glittered and danced, her mind hopping along various avenues, predicting and imagining possible requests. Then her focus snapped back into place; she guided herself back to the task at hand. “What do you want? If it is within my power, I will do so.”

“An invitation to your real birthday,” Randidly said rather gently.

After a stunned second of silence, Devick began to laugh. She wrapped her arms around her shoulders as the laughter transitioned smoothly into sobs, her torso shuddering with the force. Randidly’s small joke disintegrated the last of her control, leaving her to vent all the emotions that had been pressurized over the course of the day.

Devick, despite what she might eventually become, had such thin limbs. Wrapped in her grief, she seemed so small.