Randidly kept his breathing even as his heartbeat quickened from the familiar thrill of conflict. He ignored the shifts happening in the environment as the World State image began to seep beneath his own images and influence the surrounding space. He balanced on a precipice as he met the descending judgment from the Monarch of Karma, both with kinetic force and his images. He carefully plucked the tools he needed and fought against the rare force manifested in the sky in the form of a sword of light.

Randidly looked up with a pained expression at the most recent clash. His muscles had begun to ache; he might regret his bold statement that he feared no slugging matches. Not only was the grind of Nether against Aether uncomfortable, but he couldn’t figure out any other way for his images to efficiently become involved. It was aggravating, but Mae Myrna’s concept of ‘deserve’ and Randidly’s Yggdrasil didn’t have a great matchup against one another.

Yes, the World Tree towered powerfully in the space around the skyisland. Because of its dominance there, even as more and more tiny chips of crystalized Aether appeared in the sword of light wielded by the Monarch of Karma, Randidly held its own by utilizing the overwhelming Status of his body and his exceedingly dense Nether. Yet at the same time, while Yggdrasil stretched toward the sky and cast a longer shadow, the world-state image slid underneath the area of Randidly’s influence, trying to shift the fabric of existence.

Even now, Randidly didn’t have a particularly deep understanding of world-state images. He had assisted Mae Myrna in creating this monstrosity, albeit without thinking too much about the process at the time, but mostly he helped create a pattern it could use to propagate. But the principles and narcissism required to make use of them remained a mystery. So as the Monarch of Karma adjusted the world, Randidly did the only thing he could.

He advanced, although in a very particular fashion.

The roots of the World Tree dug even more deeply into existence, avoiding the surface layers adjusted by the foe. If this world began to change its face, Randidly would sink down toward its core to drink pure energy.

Congratulations! Your Skill the World Tree Sips from Every Realm (T) has grown to Level 1065!

…

Congratulations! Your Skill the World Tree Sips from Every Realm (T) has grown to Level 1091!

He watched his opponent with sharp eyes, waiting for an opening. With the partially restarted temporal acceleration in the area, Randidly at least was still making progress on his challenge against the impossible. But an already daunting task would become pure torture if Randidly didn’t manage to quell the world-state image before the Pinancle event occurred. Without a concrete opponent’s image for his images to attack, he could only observe and hone his execution.

It’s possible that perhaps using either Seize or Intangible Burial will be necessary, Randidly calculated as he thrust out his spear. But will it truly end with just these two?

In response to his most recent attack, the Monarch of Karma swung his sword while trying to advance the influence of ‘deserving’. The two combatants fought like this, both deepening the influence of their images, both gathering more momentum to their prowess, for almost a full minute without any notable changes. In a high-speed clash like this one, a world-wrenching crash had exploded out thirty-seven times.

The surrounding sky, still both forced into acceleration by Randidly’s strumming and frozen back toward ‘proper’ time by Mae’s image, became thick and calcified. Despite that, the sheer force of the images on display cracked and sundered the sky in multiple directions, so wide chasms of the abyss opened up in the previous milky vistas.

Congratulations! Your Skill the World Tree Sips from Every Realm (T) has grown to Level 1101!

Congratulations! Your Skill Nyx’s Successor Births Fate (GD) has grown to Level 1073!

Randidly’s mind moved in a thousand directions, gathering the kinetic force, spinning his Nether Core and refining Nether, striking with the spear, adjusting the details of Yggdrasil in real-time in order to strengthen its suppressive effects…

In the previous two challenges against the impossible, he had smashed against his limits. The first could be considered an excellent effort, earning him the smallest wiggle room when it came to causality. The second… well, Randidly had to admit he would have dropped the ball without Neveah’s interference.

Yet with the break he had taken before the third, his reserves had been deepened and refilled. Now, even as his brain seethed with numerous simultaneous calculations, the process only generated a manageable quantity of heat. Those familiar mental strain headaches approached, but he could still handle this much. He could still accelerate time and combat the Monarch of Karma, while also assessing the approaching end of the memory.

His images whispered to one another, considering the best way to attack the foe in front of him. The world-state image frustratingly sank into the world, avoiding a clash. If he wanted to decide this quickly, he needed to leave a deep wound.

Based on his observations, he should still have a little wiggle room in terms of time. His smile widened as he thrust out with his spear, pouring a bit of the kinetic storm into this thrust. A cyclone of Nether crashed against the sword of light. Randidly’s joints ached with the impact, but that only made him more excited.

Congratulations! Your Skill Marred Yet Reliable Foundation of Yggdrasil (T) has grown to Level 1029!

Congratulations! Your Skill Absolute Insight of the Smoldering Abyss (P) has grown to Level 1030!

Having wiggle room didn’t make Randidly cocky. If anything, that only deepened his vigilance. Because he had already smashed against that imperative twice today, he knew the meeting would not be a gentle one. The fact he believed that he had some extra room to breathe just meant he hadn’t witnessed the whole of the forces that would move against him.

“Hungry Eye…”

In the middle of all of these concerns, Devick spoke in an uncharacteristically small voice. He turned and looked at her, feeling the tiniest bit of amusement at how scruffy and desperate she looked as she hunched against the ground. Yet her wavering tone quickly erased the amusement. “Should I retreat? If you keep needing to cover for me…”

Her voice trailed off. He released a soft sigh. Perhaps because Randidly had seen Devick in so many forms during his journey, the monstrous Actus Suprem, the joyful and playful trainee ghost on the Master’s mountain, and now encounters with the memory Devick at multiple inflection points, he felt like he could read her emotions clearly on her face. She wanted to remain here near the action… but she also felt deeply insecure.

At this point, it had moved beyond the point where it could accelerate her growth. Here, a wrong move would see her step into her grave.

“No,” Randidly answered, despite those very true facts, despite knowing how precarious her position was. Because suddenly, he could see the shape of a counter-attack. “Where you are is right where I need you. And when I open up a Path… strike at the Patron of Truth, would you? I don’t like the way she just keeps staring at me.”

Devick looked at him for a long second. He had to turn away, focusing all his intent on the foe in front of him. His Nether Core roared, filled to bursting with significance as currents of Nether flowed outward through his veins. All that potential exploded out of his body, through his limbs, and into Acri. A massive spear ripped upward and deflected the Monarch of Karma’s attack.

When he turned back, Devick squinted at him. “Are you making fun of me? Launch an attack on the Patron of Truth? I’d break my fist punching her stomach. Even I can see that.”

Randidly could only chuckle as his attention swiveled back to the blow from the Monarch of Karma. This time when he thrust out Acri in response, he moved Nether in two directions, creating an inner rotation and outer rotation. Significance seethed and sparked along the boundary between those energies and conveying an overwhelming aura of Nether Weight to the strike. His spear rushed up and impacted the descending blade.

For the first time in the last dozen exchanges, the power of the Monarch’s Aether stuttered before Randidly’s strike. His smile widened and he looked back at Devick. He didn’t linger on the physical but observed the flow of energy through her body. Should I tell her? No, probably the effect would be lessened if she didn’t take action based on faith…

Yggdrasil released waves of roots to dig down through the layers of existence and pull energy, but as time went on, more and more of those roots began to spiral toward Devick’s position. They formed an interchange of energy right below where she squatted, with gossamer thin golden threads stretching out to connect to her body. Due to her presence, Yggdrasil had a slightly easier time.

And Randidly vaguely understood why. His Fateset… in setting its direction, he had purposefully acknowledged that he was one who would open a Path to the impossible, but he didn’t intend to do it alone.

His smile widened as he looked at Devick, trying to reassure her. “Normally you are right, but… Well, let me put it this way. You seem to be thinking that your shameless request to be here and your ridiculous sense of entitlement are a problem- okay, also, they aren’t necessarily ideal traits. However, for me—”

Randidly needed to pause and unleash another powerful blow at the Monarch of Karma. His power had grown a bit more difficult to deal with as the world-state image deepened in the surrounding area. With gritted teeth, he still managed to again repel the opponent’s strike and then speak. “For me… the reason you fit so well by my side is exactly because of how unreasonable you are, Devick. You were right when you said my Path is nonsense earlier. But… I promise this Path can really take us where we want to go. So long as you don’t let what is possible, what you think you deserve, hold you back.

“When it comes to this strike against Mae Myrna… it can only be you, Devick.”

Their eyes met for several seconds.

Whatever she saw in him, Devick smiled. She crawled forward like a bug to hunch almost directly against his ankles. “Okay, okay. Tch, since you asked so nicely, I’ll do my best. Just promise me one thing.”

“What is it?” Randidly straightened against, gathering more refined Nether inside of his body. Considering the effectiveness of the two counter-rotations within the energy, he had a few ideas of how to improve-

“If I… d-die, at least once…” Devick licked her lips. “...t-try to wake me up with a kiss. Like a princess.”

Randidly blinked. He shook his head, but not in rejection. Just because sometimes, he really couldn’t follow Devick’s train of thought. Which, in its own way, was quite exciting.