In those few silent seconds after Randidly had arrived and the whole ballroom had noticed his presence, Isabella didn’t know what she expected to happen. But what she didn’t expect was the quick and easy smile that crossed the Ghosthound’s face. The youthful glow that covered him as he grinned was a stark reminder that Randidly Ghosthound was young. Probably not much older than Isabella herself.

Yet he was the most powerful individual on Earth.

And then, while he still smiled cheekily out at the room, his body rippled and split.

The original version continued to stand in his original position with a half-smile on his face, but three other versions stalked purposefully forward, descending onto the glowstone tiles with all the blithe confidence of giant carnivorous cats.

The most normal of these three split forms looked exactly like the Ghosthound in normal clothes, except that tongues of emerald and orange flames flickered freely across his body, ruffling his hair and leaving his clothes undamaged. His eyes glowed and the area around him warped with heatwaves.

Another form was clearly the iconic image of Yggdrasil, the vast tree with glowing emerald leaves and a trunk that was covered in golden runes. This version was scaled down to be a three-meter tall treant, but that only made the plethora of detail of its form all the more impressive. Vibrant life oozed from every inch of the World Tree.

Yet as Isabella looked too closely at the writing that wove itself through the craggy bark, she grunted and had to press her eyes quickly closed. A thundering headache pounded at her senses for several seconds before it began to recede.

Feeling slightly skittish, she resolved to not peer too closely at that writing in the future. It was not just life that Yggdrasil bore.

The third figure was similarly well known by individuals who kept track of the images of Randidly Ghosthound. It was a slim, almost skeletal figure, with a pale torso and corrupted skin on its arms and legs. It had two tails that flicked lazily side to side as he moved. Its left arm was a claw with razor-sharp talons and its right arm was a spear of bone that had been stained by old blood. Its eyes were still green, but it was the green of rot and death. The Grim Chimera leaned forward as it moved, releasing a chilling ferocity that pushed back the lights that floated in the surrounding area.

In the same moment, the three images descended onto the tiles. Almost instantly, the floating bonfires, torches, and candles of light that the images of the various people were able to produce were heavily suppressed by the difference in power between them and the new arrivals.

He can create THREE images like that…? And they move independently… all at once… Isabella tried to image the mental strength that it took to do that and couldn’t even begin to figure out how it was done. I don’t even know anyone that can reliably create a discrete image that isn’t somehow grounded around their own body! And he…!

The light on the glowstone tiles continued to shift. Those images that had been candles became pinpricks. Torches became slightly larger pinpricks. Bonfires became several of the slightly larger pinpricks of light crammed together in a small spot. All the while, the light beneath the feet of each of the Ghosthound’s three images began to grow.

“I think I’ve kept my message consistent, but sometimes I don’t think you all really understand what I mean,” Randidly Ghosthound’s true body continued to survey the surrounding people with that amused smile on his face. “The Earth… the people who live here… we are growing. But we aren’t growing fast enough. We aren’t powerful enough to be anything but just another one of the millions of planets that will be chewed up and spat out by the Nexus.”

The word ‘Nexus’ was punctuated with blasts of images radiating outward from each of his three bodies that stood across the glowstone tiles. Burning heat, the radiating glow and tantalizing secrets of life, and finally the chilling and almost obsessive need to survive.

Isabella grimaced as she was buffeted by the nearest image to them, Yggdrasil, and was suddenly very grateful that Mrs. Hamilton had moved them off of the floor prior to this. Because the image was so potent that Isabella couldn’t image how her body would cope if it was conveyed directly through to her.

The throbbing remnants of the headache she had obtained when she looked a little too closely didn’t cease.

The lights beneath the three images continued to grow. To the point that the difference between them and the other people on the floor was so vast that there was nothing beneath the feet of some people. Even more dramatically, the direct connection to conducive material saw those people being pushed backward by those images. Slowly by surely, people were driven from the tiles.

Isabella Cortez suddenly became aware that the people that had remained on the floor were all relatively minor characters. Assistants, guards, individuals from various Orders. Everyone of power had done as Mrs. Hamilton did, moving off of the glowstone tile even before Randidly arrived.

As though they all sensed something… and I didn’t. Isabella gritted her teeth. There is something that I am still missing, some instinct. I suppose they aren’t the most powerful people in the world for nothing…

“Let me be clear: In the Nexus… the power of my images are nothing special,” Randidly continued. And along with the word special cave a wave of potent images. Each of the three image bodies that Randidly had split off from himself erupted in an explosion of blinding light. The aspects his images had been throwing off grew more intense and complex as he released more and more of his hidden potential.

Isabella couldn’t tear her eyes away. The display of power was… breathtaking. To think that an individual can be so dominant even before a whole assemblage of people…!

The people that had remained on the glowstone tiled area of the floor despite the earlier pressure now gasped and were thrown backward. They rolled helplessly away until people rushed to their aid and helped them to their feet. But the Ghosthound didn’t stop there. Each image blasted outward with such force that the surrounding individuals, even as the most powerful people on Earth, couldn’t help but tremble.

“This is why I’m worried,” Although she could hear Randidly’s voice, Isabella could no longer see his expression. She was forced to cover her eyes in the face of the light the Ghosthound’s images caused in the floor. “None of you seem to understand the danger that approaches. And I won’t always be around to remind you of how small the Earth is on the scale that the Nexus exists… so I’ve invited someone special. Everyone, please join me in welcoming Octavius Shrike, Overseer of the Seventh Cohort.”

Isabella’s awe in the face of Randidly Ghosthound’s power soon gave way to relief as his introduction seemed to imply that the pressure would soon cease. Discussions were about to occur. But to her surprise, the waves of images continued to smash against her mental defenses. In fact, the power of those reverberations grew as a new figure walked calmly onto the glowstone tiles.

For a brief second, Isabella was able to make out the figure of what appeared to be a rhinoceros wearing a tailored suit, but then light once more filled her vision. The light underneath the singular form of the new arrival was enough to rival the light produced by all three of the Ghosthound’s images.

“Thank you for the invitation, Mr. Ghosthound.” An unfamiliar and deep voice replied. But the real tragedy was that the low voice came with an image.

This image possessed vast size, a monster of unfathomable proportion moving slowly to crush everything in the surroundings. After only hearing a single line from the new arrival, Isabella’s jaw ached from clenching so hard. And every time this new figure spoke, a dull ache ran through her very bones. “I will admit that this is the first such invitation I have ever received… but that is due to the weakness of the individuals in the Seventh Cohort, of course.”

Perhaps she noticed Isabella’s struggle because Mrs. Hamilton reached out and touched her elbow again. Instantly, grey threads seemed to swirl upward protectively around their corner of the ballroom. Isabella cast Mrs. Hamilton a grateful look.

Randidly spoke again, a disembodied voice in the surging tide of images and light. “I’d like to ask you some things very publically, Octavius. First… how many worlds have already made it to the First Calamity? In the Seventh Cohort.”

As Isabella now had some breathing room, she realized that it wasn’t just Mrs. Hamilton that mobilized their images. She could see Paolo, Kayle, Obyrn, Naffur, and King Phirun tacitly working together to shield the weaker individuals from the worst of Octavius's image. An impressive show of unity in the face of the monstrously large image that had suddenly appeared.

“Thirty-six thousand five hundred and one,” Octavius said in that same booming voice. The huge monster of his image moved again. Isabella could hear Mrs. Hamilton’s breath hissing out through her teeth. Several strands of spider silk strained and snapped as she struggled to soften Octavius’s image. “Although the Earth had one of the first Zones connect in the Cohort, others have since caught up. Few other planets had the… variance of results that the Earth did.”

“Currently, what’s the passage rate for planets in the Seventh Cohort? For that First calamity that over Thirty thousand planets have reached.” Randidly asked.

“Thirteen percent.”

These words were the vast beast image swinging its spiked tail, ripping through the motley assemblage of images that had been protecting the others. The people of Earth swayed. The vast monster of Octavius stretched its limbs and physically trampled the people in the ballroom. Isabella coughed uncomfortably and shifted her stance. Others collapsed directly, knocked unconscious by the brutal presence of Octavius’s image.

A two-part message, the content and the mode. Both painting an overwhelmingly bleak picture.

Randidly released a humorless chuckle. “And I’m sure you are aware of the… special opportunity that the Earth has been presented with? The Corrupted Invaders. Tell me, in terms of difficulty… how does it compare to the First Calamity?”

Octavius hummed thoughtfully. “A difficult question. Because the Earth is the only planet in the Seventh Cohort to have drawn the attention of the Nexus in this manner.”

Mrs. Hamilton released a low groan. More people staggered and fell to the ground. The vast monster shifted again. A vast eye trembled and then began to open. Across the ballroom, Isabella managed to make out the forms of Alana Donal and Hank Howard stepping forward to act a bulwark against Octavius's image. But even they were fuzzy and indistinct before the power of this Overseer’s image.

Randidly replied curtly. “Let me rephrase. If all the worlds that attempted the First Calamity were to attempt this test, what do you think the passage rate would be?”

“To eventually eliminate the risks… perhaps as high as 30%.” As Mrs. Hamilton’s expression grew increasingly grave, Isabella stepped forward. She wove her image as best as she could to support her teacher. But even so, as Octavius continued to speak, both struggled so that the people behind them weren’t knocked unconscious. “But to obtain the benefit by clearing the Epic Danger Zone within the time limit… likely less than 1%.”

“Less than 1%.” Randidly sighed. Then he laughed again, harsh and loud as the blinding light released by Octavius’s image. “One last question for you Octavius. Is this image you are releasing now… your full power?”

“No, of course not.” Octavius’s deep voice seemed almost insulted. Every beat of Isabella’s heart sent another wave of aching pain through her jarred bones. Enduring the presence of that vast beast was taking everything she had. And she was horrified to imagine the pressure that Mrs. Hamilton was currently bearing. “Some might be able to stand my full image… but most here would die rather quickly.”

For several seconds, Isabella felt like she was being physically flattened into a pancake just by that vast eye that flicked open and considered the people of Earth. But then a new sort of power spread outward. It was dark and cool, blowing like restlessly through the ballroom like the breeze that announced the arrival of autumn.

Thankfully, the pressure from Octavius faded. The lights of the images slowly dimmed. The glowstone tiles flickered and turned inert. Collectively, the ballroom release a sigh as the oppressive image faded around them. Yet just as quickly, people frowned as a new sort of pressure crept outward.

It wasn’t as overt as the prior pressure, but it was like the very air around them was turning inhospitable; no matter how seriously Isabella focused, her images suddenly couldn’t find even the slightest purchase in the space around her.

Without the lights on the ballroom floor, the situation began to resolve itself. Isabella got a better view at the smartly dressed Overseer that so effortlessly squished the entire room. And the Ghosthound’s three images were gone, leaving only a grim-faced young man dressed for war and wreathed in shadowy flames.

“Apologies for the theatrics, I just wanted to make sure I had your attention,” Randidly said quietly. He gestured and a large map sprung into existence next to him. “These are the locations of the Danger Zones with the corrupted invaders. Tonight, enjoy yourself. We still have time. But after that… we need to get to work, people of Earth. And we need to work together.

“We need to accomplish something that less than one percent of all the worlds in our Cohort can accomplish.”