“No!”

A powerful shout pulled Randidly’s attention downward, even as Devick dazzled as the centerpiece of his three images. What he saw there made him blink; Fiero, the Patron of the Borrowed, his body riddled with wounds, bounded up off the edge of the skyisland. His hands were outstretched, desperation clear in his posture. His image grasped, trying to lock onto Devick as she attacked Mae.

Elhume, you bastard, you even had Fiero borrow your emotions? Another piece clicked into place in Randidly’s mind. Then all those times when the Patron of the Borrowed had those strange monologues-

Words that Elhume could never have spoken originally because he had given them away. A regret of emotions buried and cast aside. This tomb, this memory, this impossible second chance. Randidly eyes narrowed in contempt for several reasons. First, because Fiero’s wounded form couldn’t even cover half of the distance from skyisland to where Mae and Devick were. No matter who held all the feelings of dissatisfaction, nothing could be done about it. Second, the horrifying impact between spear and sword muddied the energy around their bodies, blocking the vulpine’s image from interfering.

Third… because Elhume was an even larger coward than he thought.

Almost on cue, the memory flickered and Fiero’s mouth opened, speaking words with no bearing on the current situation. “Do we truly need to utilize the Hierarchy of Karma against her? Is the world she would create truly so vile? Why not give her a chance?”

No one acknowledged the question. Devick’s claw, strengthened by Randidly’s images, slashed out, cutting through the suppression of the world-state image and sinking into Mae’s shoulder. The woman stumbled back, her expression crumbling.

Randidly grinned. Gotcha.

As Devick’s image penetrated into Mae’s body, the world-state image weakened. An echo of that attack manifested in the sky, as the grey stasis began to corrode. The Dread Homunculus wove together all the disparate strands of energy released by the earlier impact. Yggdrasil’s roots flowed quickly up from Devick’s body to sew together the edges of this manifestation. The Survivor of the Inhospitable Abyss breathed out pure craving and power to fill it with power.

A chimera was born of the three images. It ripped down with vicious claws, targeting not Mae’s body but the wound in the world-state image. Devick’s act of faith had inserted a little bit of uncertainty into the opposing image and Randidly could grip that flaw and pry everything open.

Devick’s image sank into Mae’s body. The replicating nature of the world-state image, the same reason it possessed such power, meant that the added flaw quickly exploded outward from just the Patron of Truth’s body and infested the whole of her surroundings. All the restrictions the image had impressed on the surroundings began to weaken; Randidly’s temporal accelerations began to push back the breaks.

At the same time, Mae pressed her lips together. Power gathered in her clenched fists. “You have no idea what you have done.”

“I’ve been undeniable,” Devick smirked, her cheeks flushed and her eyes triumphant.

Before Mae could smash Devick’s head into paste, Yggdrasil shrugged the roots that had buried beneath the fabric of reality to establish itself here. The layers left by the world-state image flaked and cracked. Devick’s capriciousness added variation to the world-state image, which led to weakness. Mae would be able to purify it with some time and effort, but Randidly had no intention of giving that to her now.

A root encircled Devick’s waist and pulled her away from a counterattack. Mae took a half step forward and then mastered her fury. She reached out and grabbed the Monarch of Karma. Randidly opened his mouth and released a booming voice. “Monarch of Karma! Now that the image has been broken, what is it you desire?”

“To die.” He said. His voice was painfully clear.

Randidly felt a chill; honestly, he hadn’t expected such a direct response. He looked to Mae Myrna, but she met him with a burning gaze that didn’t back down. “Is that such a strange desire? We, as the population of this twisted world… isn’t that what we deserve? To be consigned to oblivion?”

She turned away. Randidly felt a sinking feeling in his stomach. Have my actions… really put her on such a dark path?

While I’ve managed to insulate Devick from the harsh and bitter lessons of her youth, those failures have instead piled upon Mae Myrna… A different future with a different dark overlord has appeared…

The Patron of the Borrowed vaulted over the edge of the skyisland, now with the Patron of the Borrowed drifting away. His desperate gaze flicked to Mae, then back to Randidly. Waves of emotion, one half of the power that was Aether, roiled off of his body. “You… I will kill you, Nether King Hungry Eye. All those precious images you have honed… I will claim them!”

You are a repository for the discarded aspects of a cowardly Elhume, Fiero. You… cannot handle me. Randidly felt the smallest amount of empathy for the Vulpine, but he also had much of his power tied up in the support of the memory. He couldn’t spare too much attention to soothe this idiot's ego.

Now that Deganawidah had fallen, Randidly’s Nether ran rampant throughout the memory. The effectiveness of the temporal twangs increased as his efforts resumed. The memory hurtled toward the Pinnacle event.

Looking at the horizon, a smile spread across his face. “It’s close now.”

Randidly felt the graspings of Fiero’s image. Giggling to herself, the Songstress of Absence stepped forward onto his palm. From across the skyisland, he could see Fiero’s face pale. But it was too late— with the wonderful stage, she began to croon out oblivion.

Congratulations! Your Skill Songstress’s Dirge of Bottomless Taking (P) has grown to Level 990!

Congratulations! Your Skill Songstress’s Dirge of Bottomless Taking (P) has grown to Level 991!

While Fiero began to scream at the emptiness eating at his core, Randidly’s gaze moved to the other figure who climbed over the edge of the skyisland. For the third time today, Elhume came to stand before Randidly. But this Elhume… had been completely scoured clean of all emotions. He regarded Randidly and the towering World Tree with a blank gaze. All those pesky fears, flaws, and motivations had been borrowed by Fiero. It was, definitely, a coward’s decision. He had been almost entirely hollowed out.

Yet looking at the result, Randidly had to admit he slightly understood the dangerous impulse to cut away. He did own the Visage of Obsession, after all, and this was a variation on that same theme. Because the shape of Elhume’s image had been near perfected by the sculpting. It was difficult to look as his aura seared the air around his body. It was power incarnate. If Elhume in this state were to swing his fist, even Randidly didn’t know what the result would be.

The world trembled. The memory seethed around him, his Nether Core straining to contain the power that approached. Because finally, it had come. His skyisland began to flare, channeling the oppressive powers that approached. Significance began to mass around their position. The Pinnacle event-

Congratulations! Your Skill Songstress’s Dirge of Bottomless Taking (P) has grown to Level 1000!

Fiero screamed and collapsed as the Songstress overwhelmed him. Randidly narrowed his eyes. All I need to do is knock you down one last time, Elhume. Let’s see how well you can handle these nine threads of Nether-

Huh, strange. Is it a coincidence I now strike with nine threads, and Elhume decides in his Pinnacle event to use eight fists?

Randidly thrust out his spear one more time, not thinking too deeply about his idle thoughts. Even if his consciousness had been scoured clean, Elhume settled back into a striking stance out of instinct. As the slender black line ripped through space toward him, he punched-

In the moment of attack, a humming resonance echoed out from Elhume’s body and found its mate within Fiero’s. Randidly’s eyes widened. Because he sensed it then, a sort of wholeness that existed between the two of them, passed between their bodies. A connection that possessed an overwhelming amount of power.

Devick landed next to Randidly, still pulled by the root. He maneuvered her behind him, even while his black line rushed toward Elhume. He gritted his teeth. “You… Elhume, what gives you the right to stand at the apex of the Nexus, huh? The first time you touched the Pinnacle you relied on Pine. And this time… you didn’t get there alone this time either, huh?”

Right before Elhume moved, Randidly felt his body stiffening; the follow through of his thrust weakened. All the Engravings that centered the surroundings on his body to support the Pinnacle event began to press down. The memory cracked, even with his support. The significance and raw energy of the Pinnacle event smashed against the present. Growling, Randidly tried to maintain his attack. For the first time, he felt it, even if just obliquely.

In Elhume’s eyes were nothing but the brush of what he could be. The first stirrings of that perfection that captured an entire moment. The resonance between Elhume and Fiero grew stronger. Metaphorically, a door opened. Through that threshold, Randidly could feel the powerful stirrings of the energy he had sought to reinvigorate his Class and regain the use of his Attribute Muse’s Reverie.

But all that was for later. For now, Elhume punched and the memory shuddered.

They hadn’t merged yet to form the perfection needed to dominate the moment, but Elhume’s shape of annihilation had been polished to the point of being blinding. A blast of force shot forward, beyond the limits of even crystallized Aether. That black line that had overwhelmed Mae and her world-state image, even slightly weakened by the destabilization in the memory, was erased by Elhume’s punch.

Yggdrasil roared in denial. Space rumbled as its roots took umbrage with this offense. It raised its canopy with the inviolable aura of a god and demanded obedience.

Congratulations! Your Skill the First Tree Suffers Only Fealty (P) has grown to Level 1020!

When that failed, the powerful runic symbols across its trunk began to glow. All the depth it had achieved by sinking its roots into this area was brought to bear. Practically holding hands, the light of Dawn and Dusk cleaved downward and cut into the attack. With the combined effort of all those energies, a small portion of Elhume’s punch was chipped away.

Congratulations! Your Skill Dawn Opens the Sky and Reality Stirs (T) has grown to Level 1009!

Congratulations! Your Skill Dusk Withers the Horizon and the Waiting Carrion Grins (T) has grown to Level 1008!

…

Congratulations! Your Skill Dusk Withers the Horizon and the Waiting Carrion Grins (T) has grown to Level 1025!

Randidly’s expression sunk. With very little other choices, Yggdrasil ripped all its carefully established roots out of the environment and wrapped them around the forceful blast. It acted as a dragnet, slowing down the attack any way it could.

Congratulations! Your Skill Marred Yet Reliable Foundation of Yggdrasil (T) has grown to Level 1053!

As they burned and disintegrated before that overwhelming punch, the roots bled off energy and fed it back to Randidly. His emerald eyes burned as his massive Yggdrasil image bought him time to gather his momentum.

Congratulations! Your Skill Aureate Arteries of Yggdrasil (T) has grown to Level 1011!

Congratulations! Your Skill The World Tree Sips from Every Realm (T) has grown to Level 1111!

…

Congratulations! Your Skill Marred Yet Reliable Foundation of Yggdrasil (T) has grown to Level 1070!

Congratulations! Your Skill Aureate Arteries of Yggdrasil (T) has grown to Level 1033