“Uh oh. Uh oh,” Octavius Shrike hissed in growing alarm as he looked at the carefully calibrated instruments he had arrayed in front of him. His mastery of Aether had been stretched to the limits to make all these methods to keep track of the slippery and paranoid Randidly Ghosthound. And now those instruments were braying out alarms.

Something had happened. Something big.

His fingers carefully wove a series of tight runic sigils in order to control the news, but the few seconds edge Octavius had over the overlay System wasn’t enough to allow him to suppress this news. So Octavius frantically tried to delay while he parsed apart the same dense Aether communication that the overlay System was dealing with. And it took Octavius several seconds to understand what he was looking at.

Randidly Ghosthound had broken another mold; he had created a Fateset. Octavius honestly didn’t even know what that meant, but the Aether was very clear; there was a Fate that was part of a set. Octavius could look at this optimistically because this wasn’t Randidly transgressing the rules of the System for an additional time, but it was also so much worse than that. Because this news was nowhere near as insignificant as some confusion and complaints from citizens of the Nexus who had been cheated out of their roles as Champions or Nemesai.

This was an achievement. Progress. A possible Path for evolution in the System. After Randidly had done it, the Council of the Nexus would convene and discuss what led to it, and how it could be encouraged in the future. Especially if it was determined that there was power in creating a Fateset.

Randidly would be rewarded for this. And that reward would come with a lot of strings and attention.

Very quickly, Octavius Shrike implemented his contingency plan. In his attempts to keep the details of what was going on within his Cohort quiet, Octavius had prepared several ‘distraction’ events that would serve to delay the placement of addressing Randidly Ghosthound on the agenda for the Council. Due to the magnitude of this achievement, Octavius released all of them at once. Because if he couldn’t stop the meeting from being scheduled, Randidly would be thrust into the spotlight.

Now, before he had finished growing. And the monsters of the Nexus would devour him.

“You are more trouble than you are worth,” Octavius hissed as he frantically used shortcuts to input his information into the Grand Nexus Calendar. But in his heart, he didn’t believe that statement. He picked up a small wooden bowl of coffee for a fortifying sip and then continued to work. After all, Randidly had given him the first glimmer of hope he had for decades.

How long had Octavius been a middle manager? Struggling just for this chance to become Overseer of an entire Cohort? It was a chance of a lifetime. And besides the pittance the Nexus would reward him per soldier that rose from his Cohort, the real benefit was the chance to make an amicable relationship with someone powerful while they were still growing into that power.

That was the true opportunity that being an Overseer presented. And Octavius was determined not to miss it, especially because the whole reason he was having difficulty was how exceptional Randidly Ghosthound ended up being.

Octavius had never seen anyone grow in such a unique way as Randidly Ghosthound. Which was why, despite the extra work it meant for him, Octavius would do everything short of breaking a rule in order to protect him.

Unfortunately, it seemed that his tiny distractions weren’t enough. This achievement was one that that System took very seriously. An emergency meeting was being scheduled, despite the distractions Octavius had prepared. The Aether streams converged and the schedule was immediately changed.

Octavius’s heart trembled as he saw the ripple through the Grand Nexus Calendar, the monolithic existence which determined all of the actions of the Nexus. One week from today was the final date of the meeting.

Discuss the situation of Randidly Ghosthound.

Octavius grimaced. Just from that name, it was clear that someone else was manipulating the overlay System to investigate him. Someone else wanted this investigation. Which was problematic, because-

There was another ripple. The event disappeared as though it had never been there.

Very gradually, a frozen Octavius began to thaw. Too many events too quickly had rendered him jittery, so he took another fortifying sip from his coffee bowl. Removing an event from the Grand Nexus Calendar was something that could be done in three ways. By a majority vote of the Council, by executive power of a current or former chairperson of the Council, or as an emergency measure by one of the many special Envoys that had performed extraordinary merit for the System and had existed in the Nexus for years.

As it was, the abrupt disappearance probably wouldn’t even be noticed by many. Not unless someone was watching Randidly Ghosthound as closely as Octavius had been. And in this case, there were two individuals who were closely watching the Ghosthound’s growth. Someone who wanted to bring him to the attention of the Council and someone who did not.

Obviously a quorum hadn’t been reached to cast a vote, so it seemed to Octavius that the latter individual was likely more powerful than the former if they were able to knock the event off the calendar. But still…

Although the situation was delayed, it was only a matter of time before Randidly endured the scrutiny of the Nexus Council. One event could be removed, but the System had made a note of Randidly’s achievement. It couldn’t be avoided forever.

Well, at least no one knows that I’m watching too… Octavius tried to comfort himself. But the thought made him somewhat sad.

*****

Randidly frowned at the open portal in front of him that let him see down the slope toward Donnyton. He could see the terraced living quarters along the mountain ridge and the bustling streets that sprawled out around the low hill that was the center of Donnyton. South and East were brightly-lit shops and processing facilities, slowly fading into intermittent farms and orchards as you moved farther away from the city proper. Up to the North and West the industrial district spewed smog up into the air, steadily churning along. The clang of hammers on metal echoed up, even from this distance.

If Randidly narrowed his eyes, it was possible to see up even farther North and catch a fleeting glimpse of the sinkhole he had created in the challenge against Donnyton. His Grim Intuition flooded out of the open portal and slowly settled down across all of Donnyton. Even on a rainy day, it was filled with business flowing in every direction. A mild drizzle couldn’t slow this place down.

It was the original fort of Donnyton on the hill that drew Randidly’s eye next, the seat of the Village Spirit and the place where they had resisted the hordes of monsters from that first week after the Village was founded. It was somewhat nostalgic to see that they had left the original wooden palisade that he and Sam had worked on together. It was a reminder of much simpler times.

Times where Randidly had been positively naive. Times when the System and the Creature were enemies that he thought he understood.

“Been almost six years now for me…” Randidly shook his head. Then he refocused on the real point of interest: the worn golden key that was hanging in the air, turned 90 degrees counterclockwise.

Chewing on his lip, Randidly looked back up to the portal. Having the capability to create this was certainly a boon, but he was unsure whether it would be wise to use it in the short term. After all, Randidly wasn’t sure what sort of method that the Nexus would use to make sure he served out his sentence on the frontlines. Would it just be eventually be reported when he disappeared or was there a more direct observation on all of the soldiers present…?

Obviously, going into his Soulskill was fine; he left his body in the real world while he went within himself. But if he went to Earth, his body would be physically absent from the frontlines. Was that something that they would notice…?

Shaking his head, Randidly decided not to risk it. Besides, he had things to do quite soon here on the frontlines. He checked Absolute Timing and was shocked to discover that there were only seventeen minutes until he was scheduled to meet at the Headquarters.

“Least I made it in time,” Randidly grinned at the air, then looked down at the key. That caused his smile to fade somewhat. In terms of usefulness, the key was definitely powerful. As he continued to hold it, Randidly could sense that it was possible to lock, unlock, or create a portal with it. He wasn’t exactly sure of the functions of the first two, but the power to make the portal hinted that these abilities couldn’t be simple.

Still, it was a slightly… convoluted Fate. And one that meant he had to gather several more pieces of it to unlock its full power…?

“Also, how am I supposed to find pieces of my Fate from individuals that are dead…?” Randidly scratched his chin and sighed. His hand tightened on the key and forced it to turn back to an upward position, closing the portal to Earth.

Congratulations! The Level of your Fate the Philosopher's Key has grown to Level 38!

Congratulations! The Level of your Fate the Philosopher's Key has grown to Level 39!

“But if all I need to do is reach Level 100, it looks like it won’t be long until I get to the next piece of my Fate,” Randidly carefully brought his Philosopher’s Key to his waist, as though to hang it from his Sun’s Teardrop Belt, but his movements slowed as a thought occurred to him.

With flashing eyes, Randidly raised the key once more and thrust it forward into the air. Threads of karma thrummed lightly as he moved it steadily forward, but Randidly ignored them. Calmly breathing, Randidly went through the doors he could open one by one, looking for the place he wanted. It was only after Randidly had gone through dozens of threads of karma that he found it. The key hummed to life and Randidly created a portal.

Or tried to. His breath hissed through his teeth as Randidly gripped the small golden loop and did his best to force the key to slowly turn, opening a portal to Tellus.

Congratulations! The Level of your Fate the Philosopher's Key has grown to Level 40!

Yet after a small wiggle, Randidly could push it no further. He began to sweat as both arms strained against the resistance to bridging the gap. His hands flexed and trembled. Shaking his head, Randidly released his grip on the key and simply held a finger against the end of the key; this was never about brute strength, the problem here was image.

Now that Randidly focused on it, he could feel how this key could act as a powerful catalyst to lend power to his image. Ignition Essence and Yggdrasil became a heavy presence at his back as he activated his Willpower. The key trembled again. Yet it could only tick a few more degrees forward, unable to completely bridge the distance.

There was too much standing in the way between Randidly and Tellus.

Before he tired himself out, Randidly removed the key from the threads of karma and hung it carefully from his belt. It seemed like it wasn’t an omnipotent tool, as Randidly could clear feel some sort of veil acting as a resistance to bridging the gap in this case. Knowing that Tellus had made a special deal to skip the Third Calamity, Randidly felt anxious for what was occurring there. However, whether it was the Calamity or the fact that a deal was made, Randidly couldn’t currently create a portal to check.

But perhaps someday, as I grow stronger…. Randidly looked down at the key. Even only hanging from his waist, it was incredibly heavy. Yet as Randidly grew used to it, it became apparent that this wasn’t a physical weight, but a mental one. It weighed on anyone who looked at it. The image contained within was dense and complex.

“But anyway, I don’t want to be late,” Randidly cracked his neck and carefully crawled out of the small alcove in the orange stone ground. While he hurried toward headquarters, his mind rapidly sifted through what he had learned from condensing his own Fate.

And he began making plans to help Lady Iellaya remake her own.