Randidly looked down at the small object with curiosity. It appeared to be made of an ancient bone, yellowed with time and was covered with dark runes that shifted as Randidly watched them. Even with his focused attention and Aether Detection, he could not figure out the mysteries of the item presented to him. What his senses told him was inconsistent and fleeting in a way that was hard to describe.

But he did notice that one end of the baton was sharpened to a deadly point. Whatever it was, it certainly looked like a primitive weapon. Or an item used in some terrible ritual.

“Inspecting it won’t help due to its unique nature. Also… I understand how it looks. Because of the System will not provide a description, you will have to take my word on what it does. Still, I hope you will take the act of giving it to you as evidence of the truth of my words. Because even if we cannot see its true name, it has a common nickname that any associates from the Nexus will be able to corroborate; it is called the Bizarre Stake.”

For the moment, Randidly didn’t reach out to take the strange item. The Winged Serpent was right; not being able to understand what it was or how it worked made Randidly wary. And when Aether Detection continued to provide him with useless and shifting information, he used Nether Sensation.

Congratulations! Your Skill Nether Sensation (L) has grown to Level 220!

...which got him a Skill Level, but presented Randidly with another wave of disorientating nonsense. Then, struck by an idea, he used both of the two Skills in conjunction. The information flooded Randidly’s mind and continued its strange motions… but seeing both sides of the energy, it was no longer as unpredictable. Gradually, an inkling of what this object might do began to form.

Randidly kept his expression stern as he looked down at it, however. “And what does this Bizarre Stake do that is so valuable to the Nemesai…?”

“It… well, the effects are always rather unpredictable. And of course, these Stakes are extraordinarily rare; I believe the System confiscates unused Bizarre Stakes as soon as a planet either succeeds or fails the Calamities. It has never been allowed into the Nexus proper. But…” The Winged Serpent hesitated for a second. Thea continued to stand silently, her arms crossed. “It conjures… an ally for the Nemesai. But it also removes an enemy at the same time. A Sacrifice is required for it to work.”

Randidly’s eyes never left the spike. The Aether and Nether mixed freely, the only example that Randidly had ever seen, aside from his own energies, of the two existing in harmony. Which further proved that the backbone of the System was built on both energies, whatever faux-war might be happening on the surface.

The patterns were gradually becoming clearer. As Randidly looked at Aether, he saw that the spike would become a beacon. The Nether informed him that it would establish a connection. The combination of energies… the way they shifted… Randidly’s lips twitched. He wasn’t positive, but it looked like the spike would then… replace.

An enemy removed and an ally conjured, huh… Randidly rubbed his chin. “And I assume the summoned ally is powerful if you believed it would be effective against me.”

“Very much so. The common tale is that the spike kills the target and revives an ancient hero in his place. A hero whose one desire is to sabotage the planet. Of course, that’s nonsense. But… I do believe that what the spike does is revive a relic of the past to aid the Nemesai.” The Winged Serpent’s tongue flicked out.

When Randidly raised an eyebrow, the Winged Serpent continued its hissing speech. “You might not be familiar with the structure of the Nexus, but the Capital is essentially a giant powerplant. The city itself is built on top of all of the gathered and compressed images that the Nexus has taken from powerful individuals in the past. By keeping a certain amount of pressure to the Aether there… the amount of energy generated from the conflicting and impacting images is overwhelming. It is the source of the Nexus’s power… and the engine that powers the System’s expansion.”

Randidly hummed at that. All the images of the deceased packed together and let to rampage against each other… no wonder the Aether the Nexus released was brittle. It likely wasn’t even something that the Nexus had set out to do. But the process of being used in such a destructive energy production method left it scarred.

Of course, the System was smart enough to find ways to take advantage of the brittle Aether. But it was just one more piece of the grand puzzle that currently threatened to devour the Earth. One more stretch of road that would eventually lead the Earth to ruin. Randidly carefully took note.

“So you are saying that this spike… pulls something out of the interior of the power planet and brings it to itself. Is the Bizarre Spike consumed by the process?” Randidly said slowly.

The Winged Serpent nodded. “Yes, it can only be used once. When I learned that I would be Nemesai on Earth, I did my best to investigate the phenomenon… but the reports of how exactly the summoning occurs and why the spike disappears after are… contradictory. Some say that what the Bizarre Stake does is twist the recipient, empowering them and making them a Nemesai, regardless of what they were before. Others say that it pulls an image that mutates the recipient into something no longer truly intelligent, but a base monster that operates based on instinct. Other say it switches the victim with something dead, as I mentioned earlier, essentially reviving a dead image.”

Randidly pointed at the stake and grinned at the Winged Serpent. “Quite… bizarre. But how am I to know whether touching the stake will trigger its effect against me?”

With a shrug, the Winged Serpent allowed the stake to float down and touch the ground. It sat there without triggering some horrible energy. “...I can offer you no more assurance than I already have. But I will leave the Bizarre Stake here, per our agreement. Please… help our worlds, Mr. Ghosthound.”

One more responsibility… Randidly thought tiredly. But this one is probably worth it. It will be one less source of chaos and death on Earth while everyone struggles to find the Runic Tablet.

True to his word, the Winged Serpent floated back and approached its portal. Right before it went through, it glanced over its shoulder at Thea, seemed to sigh, then went through the shimmering portal to the land beyond. Randidly’s gaze slid to Thea, who stood there and was still staring at Randidly with an aggress light in her eyes. “...you also have some business with me?”

“Just a question,” Thea said in a rough voice of a lifetime smoker of cigarettes. She cleared her throat and her eyes dropped to the ground. “Is… Chrysanthemum still alive….?”

“Of course,” Randidly said, frowning at Thea. Honestly, it was a slightly bewildering question. “How could she be moving around if she was just a puppet?”

“That’s…” Thea just blinked at Randidly.

He rubbed the back of his head, feeling awkward. “Is that all you are here for…?”

“I-” Then Thea flushed. “...fine then. If you don’t want to seriously answer my question, nevermind.”

Without giving Randidly a chance to respond, Thea turned and stomped through the portal. A few seconds later, it faded out of existence. Rather nonplussed, Randidly could only shake his head. Is that answer really so hard to believe, Thea Glasshammer…? Or are you too afraid to admit that such a statement is true?

If its really true… why have you been struggling so hard to kill your fellow humans? And why hasn’t Chrysanthemum hinted to you that she is still alive…?

...honestly good questions. And as much as I once knew Thea… I don’t think I owe Thea any more assistance than I have already given her. Randidly thought with a sigh. Once more he rolled his shoulder and glanced down at his metallic left arm. The frequency of the failures of the Engravings was increasing. About once every five minutes there would be a half-second where the arm would refuse to move.

Randidly had been considering going after Ace as his first order of business, but as the failures became more frequent, he changed his mind. The two real threats that Randidly was worried about were the arrival of the Xyrt Brigade and Kaan Swacc. And if Randidly wanted to draw no suspicion, repairing a damaged arm seemed like a good way to spend his time. And one that would also prepare him for the fight against Kaan once the Xyrt Brigade left.

The thing about the Creature’s missing memories was that Yystrix had clearly taken steps to hide them. Now Randidly didn’t believe that he could rival the investigatory powers of the Xyrt Brigade, but he believed that if Elhume hadn’t already shown up and taken them, they weren’t easy to find. Even Randidly would need to rely on following Ace’s trail to get them.

Randidly didn’t want to run the risk of leading the Xyrt Brigade to those memories, should he be unable to find and locate Ace within a short period of time. Besides, Randidly was sure from Octavius Shrike’s words that he, personally, would be investigated. Some small part of him believed that the memories would be less likely to be discovered on Ace than himself.

Neveah interrupted Randidly’s thoughts. You recovered enough to study yet? You need to get up to speed with the living Engraving.

Randidly rolled his eyes. Yes ma’am.

But while he began to take apart the memories she had sent over, he beckoned over Acri, who had been lazing around with boredom on his floating island. “Hey buddy. Need something to do? How about you go kill a monster for me? As high a Level as possible. Then bring me back hits bones. The more, the better.”

At first, Acri considered Randidly in confusion. But then the living spear realized that Randidly was being serious. It shook its spear tips furiously, demonstrating its enthusiasm. Then it used one of its three pyramidal tips to hit its own shaft, as though saying, ‘you can count on me for this.’

If anything, Randidly became suspicious of his weapon’s reassuring behaviors. But still. Acri was very dependable in the past, so…

What’s the worst that could happen? Randidly asked himself as he pushed his mind into Neveah’s memories. But as the difficulty of understanding the Engravings rapidly shot upward, the issue slipped from his mind.