Truly… was Vualla such a monster borne of hate…? Randidly wondered. And to him, it seemed like a completely legitimate question, although not one that was very helpful to think about. Because History had a way of vilifying the atrocities of the powerful. Her relatively innocuous, albeit likely Heretical, actions could have been blown out of proportion as time passed. Setting aside the supposedly real proof of her genuinely good character that Randidly learned by interacting with the duplicated Vualla.

But either way, he forced himself to relax rather than respond to the allegation in Ileot’s words. Although he could somehow imagine the familiar parts of her personality acting in these ways… this Vualla was not the one that Randidly had known. He should not take it personally. This was not the one that he had chosen to embrace, despite the consequences.

An open question whether I would have been foolish enough to embrace this one too, Randidly thought with not a little bit of humor.

Yet Randidly currently felt that heat in his chest, the one that had been burning since he kissed Vualla, slowly surging to life as he thought about her. And as he released a breath, something strange happened.

When he had stopped trying to force the two to be the same woman, suddenly the image he had in his head of the other Vualla became crystal clear. Suddenly he was witnessing this alternate Vualla, this true Vualla, this beautiful azure haired and eyed woman who was crushed by the weight of a vast darkness as though he was standing next to her as she was mobbed by corpses and Nether Beasts.

As this specter of the true Vualla appeared in Randidly's mind, illuminated by the heat in his chest, she wasn't driven by a mad desire for power. She was a woman slowly crushed by her fear and pain the weight of all of the death she had witnessed and then profited by. That knowledge that she only grew power because of the deaths of others strangled her just as certainly as a noose. Kindness was the knife with which she bled herself much more than hatred.

So she found a distraction: experimenting with energy. A flimsy distraction, compared to that constant emptiness she felt that was so vast that she couldn't help but be flattened by it. Yet it was all she had. She was alone, her family dead, her companions dead and devoured by her for fuel. And due to the constant presence of Nether in her life, it made sense that she turned to that as her default with which to play. It was what was always there, threating her. It was what laced the Path she had walked. Hell, without any surviving family or friends, it might have been the most constant presence in Vualla's life. It became a bitter comfort when all other existences abandoned her.

Familiar and certain. By those qualities, it had earned the place in Vualla’s march of death.

Randidly could see it so clearly. Vualla's profile, the bright deep-sea color of her hair, standing in that darkness that would someday drown her. As her hands moved she guided the dark energy in strange patterns. The skin of her arms was pale. She seemed so alone.

Randidly's hands clenched into fists.

Heedless to the internal vista that spread out before Randidly, Ileot continued blithely along. "Of course, her obsession with her experiments was her downfall. Obviously, there are significant advantages to the grand formations... you are currently experiencing the apex of them with four stars condensed. But... you will soon find that as soon as you develop a fifth, there are unintended side effects to that borrowed power. Physical limitations as the Nether, even diluted to almost nonexistence, reacts poorly to your body. As she was the first and the best at developing the Nether cores, Vualla discovered this before anyone else. She was able to develop eight cores before she retired... and after that, it is rumored that she continued to experiment."

She reached ten, Randidly thought lightly. But there was no need to say it aloud. And he almost suspected that Ileot knew much more about Vualla’s fate than he was letting on.

Then Ileot's face brightened. "Luckily, her experiments bore unexpected fruit. For some reason... there is a strange resonance effect that occurs when a sufficient amount of Nether and Aether is gathered together and not allowed to destroy each other. It hasn't been able to be reliably reproduced... but Vualla's existence changed the entire face of the Nexus. For you see..."

Pursing his lips, Ileot appeared to think about something for several seconds. Then he shrugged. "Well, it matters not if you know. The real Vualla was born a long, long time ago. So long ago that the underlying System was present... but it wasn't as easily accessible. One of the many skills you needed to hone during those days was the ability to understand the information that was contained in your inner world. Otherwise, you wouldn't even understand what you were capable of."

The fingers on Randidly's right hand tingled. "She was from... before the overlay System was present."

"Yup." Ileot smacked his lips. "And basically the energy phenomenon that was observed from Vualla is the only reason that we were able to create the... overlay System, as you say, today. She revolutionized the entire Nexus without even meaning to. Heh, who says hatred is always a destructive emotion?"

And what she truly meant to do to the Nexus was destroy it, Randidly thought sadly. Again, he could see how that vast darkness would drown even that fervent desire that had driven her so far as she proceeded alone, deeper and deeper, into that darkness. Worse still because even with her great energy manipulation skills, she couldn't utilize the Nether cores to their fullest potential. So not just emotionally, but also physically she had been slowly strangled. The heat in Randidly's chest spiked up to become near agonizing.

You were so frustrated, weren't you? Randidly whispered to the specter of Vualla. To feel yourself growing more and more powerful... and also more and more incapable. Likely you fought the hardest against the physical bindings... but it was the slow creep of apathy that finally did you in.

Randidly released a breath. Then he looked at Ileot. Obviously he hesitated to say that he had recovered Vualla's Fate, but if Ileot was being this free with information... "So what happened to her?"

Ileot waved his hand. "The same thing that happens to us all. Time devours us. But I can understand why you are asking... a being with that much hate animating her every action, surely she went out with a bang, right? Heh, many thought the same thing. But to everyone's surprise... she passed quietly. It seems that the binding at the high end of the Nether cores can even strangle hatred. That’s why none have attempted it in her wake, despite the obvious protection from Nether you can acquire.”

Sighing, Randidly turned away from Ileot. Did you still have it in you to cry, Vualla? After your body stiffened around you?

The heat in Randidly's chest was so hot that it began to feel cold. But then Ileot spoke and pulled his attention back to the hairless man.

"As I promised, I shared the truth about Vualla. A monster that grew so large she couldn't survive the power contained in her body. And now... I think it's time for us to talk about our own relationship."

Slowly, the heat in Randidly's chest faded. He flexed his fingers, torn by empathy for the path Vualla had truly taken and annoyance that this grimy being in front of him would paint her life in such broad and inaccurate strokes. But of course, this being was far more powerful than Randidly. To forget that was to throw his own life away. Because the awful truth was that if Ileot truly wanted something from Randidly... it would be almost impossible for him to stop the Duplicator from simply taking it by force.

Which is why it's so important that I condense my own Fate and use that knowledge to create a Class for Lady Iellaya. Randidly's fingers clenched into fists. With her support... maybe resisting will be possible. Although depending on how powerful Ileot is, even she might not be able to intervene on my behalf...

Randidly shook his head and then said aloud, "So, what does Ileot Swacc want from someone like me?"

Ileot chuckled. "Don't act like you don't know. Your physical body was examined when it was separated from your images to determine the extent of your uniqueness... and I believe all involved were surprised. You created an entire world within yourself. A REAL world, which should be impossible. There are certain... restrictions to my duplication ability that I hope you will understand that I withhold from you. But suffice to say I cannot simply duplicate you by seeing you or touching you. So I wish for you to assist me in a ritual that will allow me to duplicate you."

Although it was expected that Ileot's goal was the Alpha Cosmos, it still caused Randidly to shiver that he said it so bluntly. In addition, it was extremely uncomfortable to imagine that in addition to giving Ileot access to the Alpha Cosmos, there would be a duplicate Randidly running around if Randidly were ever to agree.

And if that alternate Randidly was under this hairless man's control, Randidly didn't doubt that he would not have a good life.

Doing his best to keep his worry from his face, Randidly said, "Is it really that strange to have become a world...? I've seen many wondrous things accomplished with images. Why is it so important that it isn't simply a strong image."

"Ah, of course, you wouldn't understand. You are too weak," Ileot said dismissively. Then he waved his hand grandly in the air and the area around them changed. The Great Rift and the broken orange-brown stone around them were gone. Instead, they were standing on a frozen tundra. The wind howled between the two of them, bringing with it heavy snow and sleet. The chilling cold was so abrupt and complete that Randidly gasped. Very quickly a thick layer of frost began to creep across his metallic left arm.

"True," Ileot said softly. "Many of us has reached the level that it is simplicity itself to create an image that has the same potency as the real world. Even one that would endure for quite a long time. Yet these worlds we can create... they aren't truly real. They are ultimately hollow, malformed things incapable of growth."

"Images change all the time," Randidly said with a frown. He brought his hand up and scratched away the ice that was forming on the slight stubble across his cheeks. He could feel the chilling moisture on his fingers.

"They are tainted by influences. Other images are like drops of paint in water; they dye them varied colors. But they do not truly grow; they cannot. They will always simply be paint mixing in the water bucket. They will always be limited by the Willpower and imagination of the maker. Which is not the case for something that is actually real."

Just as quickly as it arrived, the tundra around them disappeared. Randidly was extremely annoyed to notice that while Ileot seemed immaculate after their brief jaunt, the melting frost remained on Randidly’s own body. While he scraped it off, Randidly spoke lightly. "...I have to admit that I don't really understand the fixation with this label of real. If it feels and acts real... isn't that real? Although I suppose I understand the theoretical difference in being limited by the creator of the image. But even then, I think images can grow on their own."

Ileot shook his head. "If I was having this conversation with anyone else but you, I would very gladly give them a sharp correction. But for you... perhaps your images truly do grow. But that is related to how special you are. Hum, do you... in your world are you aware of the concept of evolution?"

Not sure where this was going, Randidly nodded slowly. Ileot continued, "There are two processes that would count as evolution. One is a true evolution, where organisms are growing in response to external stimuli from their environment. That is real. The other version of evolution... is where all beings are randomly growing at all times. Slowly, the unlucky ones who do not develop in a direction relevant to their environment die out and those that do get relevant traits procreate and spread. In the end, both processes lead to the growth of a species.

"But you know... if you actually living through these processes... wouldn't existing with the false evolution be quite fraught with anxiety? Reality is reassuring. To be real is to escape the fickleness of chance… to be immune to the random growth that might hurt you as surely as help. To only be shaped by other images, not dyed by them."

Randidly frowned at Ileot. He sorta understood that Ileot was trying to defend the odd fixation with reality, but it was difficult for Randidly to follow how the metaphor was relevant.

Perhaps sensing that misunderstanding, Ileot just sighed. "Ultimately, this conversation is just a bonus. Just know that I deeply value the reality you have been able to create. If a duplicated version of you would be able to do the same... it would be immensely valuable."

Ileot straightened and put his hands behind his back. "So, finally, to business.”